From Darkness To Light
by Crystal heart 255
Summary: When Katara is horribly abused and left for dead by admiral Zhou, an unlikely hero pulls her from the depths of the ocean and saves her from the brink of death... But the road to recovery will be hard and trust must be achieved before true healing can begin...
1. Chapter 1

Prologue

Aang, Sokka, Toph, and Katara were all running for thier lives as flaming arrows rained down on them from the teal colored sky... They had finally lost Prince Zuko and had hoped to get a small break, when a different fire soldier came hurling fire balls at them out of nowhere!

" I thought Prince Zuko was the only one who was after us!" Sokka screamed as he dodged one after another.

" Zuko is no longer fitted to complete his task..." The burly man said laughing, " I am commander Zhou, the elite commander of the royal Fire Dragon fleet... Now come with me, and no one will get hurt..."

Aang looked at his friends worriedly and saw that all three were shaking thier heads nervously, fear shining in thier eyes... Aang squared his shoulders bravely before giving commander Zhou a taunting grin.

" No chance!" Aang said grinning, " You'll have to catch us first!"

Aang let loose a whirlwind at that moment, sending the commander and all of his men flying into the ocean...

" Come on guys! Apparently!" Aang yelled frantically.

The giant animal quickly swooped down and picked up the children before taking off at a speed that didn't seem to fit the size of the fuzzy creature... Zhou growled angrily as he and his soldiers madethier way back to his ship and set sail at full speed...

" Shoot them down!" Zhou screamed angrily, " I must have that child in chains!"

Zhou's orders were quickly followed as his fire archers took aim and began thier attack... Zhou's eyes burned with malice, he had had far more hatred for the Avatar then that banished prince did. Zuko was always too soft to try and hurt the Avatar and his friends while trying to get them in his custody, and that was weakness... Zhou was powerful... Zhou had killed countless Innocents and he was proud of it... Fear was power and he enjoyed having that power over others... The power to let people live or end thier miserable exhistance... Just then, one of the Avatar's stood up to see if he needed help steering, the heavy coat beginning to make the child hot . Zhou's eyes widened in happy surprise when the coat was cast off, revealing the hourglass figure of a lovely young girl... Zhou smiled evilly...

" Take aim at the girl... But don't kill her..." Zhou whispered softly, " I have special plans for her before I enjoy her death..."

The soldiers took at the girls back and fired... Five arrows struck the girl in her lower back, the pain so intense, she couldn't even get her voice to work...

" Katara!" Aang cried, turning to grab her...

But it was too late, she was already free falling to the violent ocean below...


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 1: Cruel Fate

Aang watched in terror as Katara's limp body hit the water below... Sokka and Toph were both crying hard for thier dead friend...

" We have to go after her!" Toph exclaimed, " We can't let her die!"

" Toph... She's gone..." Sokka choked, " We have to get to safety..."

Toph nodded, tears streaming down her face as they left thier friend and sister to rest forever in the blue blue depths below... Katara looked up with tears in her eyes as she watched her friends and family disappear over the harizon.

" I'm sorry to deceive you..." Katara choked out in pain, " But you all must stay safe... It's better if you guys think I'm dead..."

" Indead it is, my beauty..." A deep sinister voice said from close to her.

Katara painfully turned her head and froze in fear at what she saw coming towards her... Commander Zhou, swimming silkily through the glassy water with the predatory grace of a eel shark... Panicked by his melevolent presence, Katara began to splash and flail her arms in an attempt to get away, but her legs refused to listen... Zhou smiled as he grabbed ahold of her and summoned his men to help haul them up to the deck.

" You and I are going to have a lot of fun my dear..." Commander Zhou said, laughing darkly.

Consumed with fear and pain, Katara's world went black...

Meanwhile, Prince Zuko was furiously pacing the deck of his ship... Commander Zhou had sent a messenger hawk to him, explaining in fine detail that he was no longer allowed to persue the Avatar, and his exhile from the fire nation was now permanent... Anger fueled his actions as he blasted several fireballs into the side of his room...

" Damn that stupid commander Zhou!" Zuko screamed as angry tears threatened to spill over.

Just them, Prince Zuko felt a warm presence come up behind him and a warm hand was laid on his shoulder reassuringly... Prince Zuko turned and saw the sympathetic look in his Uncle Iroh's eyes...

" Prince Zuko, you must not let Commander Zhou get to you. You can still capture the Avatar and be allowed to go home..." Iroh said gently, " All is not lost..."

" All is lost Uncle..." Zuko said sadly, " I have a death sentence on both our heads if we return to the fire nation... Weather we have the Avatar or not, we won't be able to make it there without being struck down..."

Iroh sighed sadly.

" Still, my nephew, you must be strong... A home isn't a home, unless you share it with the people who love you..." Iroh said smiling sadly.

" I know Uncle... I'd be happy to live anywhere as long as you are with me... I wish you were my father instead of fire Lord Ozi..." Prince Zuko said sadly.

" I know, my nephew... Look on the bright side! Perhaps we can find you a young lady friend! I'm not getting any younger,you know! I want grand kids someday!" Iroh laughed loudly as Prince Zuko turned red...

" Uncle!" Zuko said embarrassed, " No one would ever want me!" Prince Zuko said sadly.

Iroh sighed softly, but said nothing as he patted his back and walked away... Prince Zuko still had anger and bitterness towards the Avatar, but he couldn't help but grin as he thought of the boys antics. For a child, he was quite clever. And the young lady he was traveling with... She was quite a beautiful woman... At fourteen years of age, she was an amazing girl from the southern water tribe. He'd caught her alone on several occasions practicing her bending. Too captivated to capture her, he simply watched as she gracefully danced over the service of the water... The small lake had a lovely waterfall cascading into it, adding even more beauty to the alluring sight... He'd purposely put off capturing the Avatar, just so he could continue seeing the girl... Unbeknownst to him, iroh was watching him as well... Iroh had chuckled and watched as Zuko snuck off at the slightest splashing sound... A while later, iroh snuck over beside Prince Zuko yet again, intent on teasing the young boy about his growing infatuation with the waterbender...

" Thinking of that pretty little water Bender are you?!" Iroh asked with a twinkle in his eye...

Not hearing his uncle sneak up behind him, Prince Zuko jumped and blushed at having been caught...

" Of course not!" Zuko said angrily, " I was thinking about how great it would be to just kill the stupid kid, just to get under Zhou's skin!" Zuko said grinning darkly.

" I don't think you would ever hurt a fly... Let alone a child prince Zuko... I've seen how careful you are each time you battle with the Avatar and his friends..." Iroh said smiling warmly, " You take after your mother... You inherited her kindness of heart..."

Zuko blushed, but couldn't help but smile fondly as he remembered his mother... It warmed him to hear his uncle say these things, for in truth, he'd much rather take after his mother, not his father... Prince Zuko sighed heavily...

' Uncle has a point... No matter how irritating the Avatar and that water wimp was to me, I don't think I'd ever be able to hurt anyone... Especially the girl...' Prince Zuko thought to himself... ' I wonder how she's doing right now...'

Little did Prince Zuko know, what terrible danger the girl was in at this very moment...


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 2: Waking Up To A Nightmare

Katara awoke a few days later in a dark and dimly lit room, the gently rocking alerting her that she was on a ship of some kind...

" Where am I?!" Katara said to herself in a panic, " What's going on?!"

Katara began yelling angrily when she saw the fire nation insignia on the large silk talestry...

" Prince Zuko!" Katara yelled angrily, " Get in here right now! I know it was you who kidnapped me! Let me go right now, or I'll sink your entire ship!"

Katara was bluffing of course... besides training under Master Paku, she knew she hadn't had a chance to enhance her skills to often... With all the running they'd done, there was no time to train much... The most she had acomplished was the ice Spears and the water whip... Aang, on the other hand, had actually mastered every stance and technique... She was a bit jealous of that fact... However, jealousy would help her little in escaping... Suddenly, the door slowly eased open, and, despite being unable to move, Katara tried her best to take up a defensive possition... But instead of Prince Zuko, a man who looked to be between his early 30's or 40's with stealy grayish brown hair and side burns and a sinister air about him entered the room, his shining golden eyes predatory as he raked them over her slim and delicate frame... Commander Zhou had wanted to take her then and there, but given her age and the air of Innocence he felt coming from her he knew that she was, in fact, untouched... And why should he force himself on a docile little unconscious waterbender when a screaming, fighting waterbender would be so much more fun to bed...

" You are not Prince Zuko..." Katara whispered fearfully...

Zhou began removing pieces of clothing as he walked towards the bed, where she lay unable to move... His archers had done a fine job, hitting the nerves in her back to render her legs useless... He enjoyed every moment of her strength and bravely deminish as he continued to undress in front of her...

" Look, the Avatar thinks I died from the fall..." Katara said, trying to sound brave, " So I won't be very good as bait to capture him... Why don't you just let me go?!"

Zhou couldn't help but laugh darkly at her feable attempt to get him to release her... She truly was untouched, if the confused look on her face was any indication...

" No... I'm not Prince Zuko, my dear..." Zhou said, his evil smile predatory, " Zuko is far too soft to ever do what I have planned for you... And about the Avatar... I plan on getting him later... No when I saw that you were a young woman, I decided to get you for a different reason..."

Katara's eyes widened considerably as the information he gave her finally cliqued and she realized with a cold fear, just what it was he wanted her for... Katara choked back her tears and looked away from him as he removed the final article of clothing and pounced at her ... Unable to move her legs, and too afraid to call forth her bending, Katara held her attacker off the best she could with her arms and hands... She head butted and scratched and bit at her assailant,but to no avail... Katara's gut twisted in fear and revulsion as the weight of his erection pressed against her thigh... Thankfully, she was still clothed,but that didn't last long... Zhou ripped her water robes and her parka to shreds before he bit her neck hard to shut her up... Katara refused to be silent, she screamed angrily and head-butted him again, catching his nose and making him bleed in the process... Zhou growled angrily and backhanded her hard, sending her head smacking I to the headboard of the large bed...

" Your in my quarters, bitch! Your mine!" Zhou screamed angrily, " Be thankful your still alive!"

" I'd rather be dead! I'd never belong to you! Ever!" Katara screamed, her fighting spirit refusing to back down...

Zhou began beating her profusely until she was badly brused, he'd broken her right arm and had burned both legs all the way down to her feet in his rage... Katara was screaming in agonizing pain when the beating and burnings had finally stopped, but the worst was yet to come... Grinning in dark satisfaction at the pain he'd caused her, Zhou grabbed ahold of both her burned legs and dragged her to him until his erection pressed hard between her legs...

" I'm going to enjoy this .." Zhou said grinning, " I've never had a waterbender before..."

With only one able arm, Katara was unable to fend him off any longer, and without warning, screamed in agonizing pain as he ripped his way into her... Katara choked back her tears and screams as Zhou continued to violently violate her body to his hearts desire... The worst part was when she felt the sickening feeling of his climax he he released himself inside her... Zhou grinned as he admired his handy work... Bloody, beaten and burned, his pride swelled at the sweet, demented pleasure he felt as he mercilessly abused the girls body... Katara choked on her tears and she whimpered whimpered softly, hoping that he would leave her alone since he had her already... But unfortunately, Fate had other ideas... Zhou left her breifly, only to come back, to her horror, with five huge fire nation soldiers, each brandishing a twisted smile of lust on thier faces...

" I decided that some of my best soldiers needed some entertainment as well... I do hope you will enjoy our company..." Zhou said wickedly.

Katara choked up as she tried to prepare herself for the pain she was yet again, forced to endure the pain of being raped yet again, but this time, it would be by six different men instead of only one...

" I wish prince Zuko was here..." Katara choked weakly, unaware that Zhou had heard her...

" Prince Zuko is nothing compared to us..." Zhou growled angrily...

From that point on, Zhou and his men took turns hurting her over and over again, each time she would feel them release thier fluids inside her, she had to fight to keep from throwing up,the feeling of it was so wretched and disgusting... When she was finally granted a reprieve from thier vile hands, she'd continuously releived her stomach of what little she had eaten before her capture and cried herself to sleep...


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 3:. Broken And Left For Dead

For several weeks since her unfortunate capture, Katara continued to suffer under the sexual and physical abuse of her captor... Zhou had refused to feed her so that she remained weak and helpless as he continued to tourment her, along with his soldiers... She had terrible burns and bite marks all over her, and from the searing pain between her legs, she knew that she was already severely damaged there especially... Since her capture, they'd refused to allow her to bath, and the weight of the men's fluids inside her was enough to make her want to vomit yet again...

" As many times as Prince Zuko had captured me to use as bait for capturing aang, he's never once tried to hurt me..." Katara whispered to herself, " I wish I was with Prince Zuko instead... Even though he was a hothead, he never hurt me... Even though I'd told him repeatedly that all firebenders were monsters... I never realized how wrong I was... If I can't get away soon, please, just let Zhou kill me..."

Katara's heart sank as yet again, Zhou entered the room and stripped in front of her...

" Ah... What a beautiful picture you make my dear..." Zhou said laughing, " The blood and bruises truly bring out your beautiful blue eyes..."

Katara cringed as Zhou crawled into bed and quickly covered her with his disgusting body...

" Please no..." Katara choked out, " Just kill me and get it over with..."

" No..." Zhou said darkly, " Your mine now... I'll never let you go, I'm enjoying your body far too much..."

Katara choked back her tears as she felt his hardness rip into her yet again... The sickening sounds he made as he continued to abuse her made her wish for the peace death would bring... Against her better judgement, she began to imagine herself as prince Zuko's prisoner, she remembered how hostile he'd acted towards her the last time he'd imprisoned her... He'd acted so angry, yet he'd made sure that she ate the same quality foods he, his uncle, and thier crew had enjoyed... He never starve her and had never abused her... He'd even given her a bedroom... It had really shocked Katara at how kind he'd actually treated her... Shed only been with him a few days though, before Aang, Sokka, and Toph had come to rescue her... She thought back to how it seemed like the prince could never hit aang or any other member of thier group, and she'd often wondered why... True, he'd called her a worthless water tribe peasant, teased and berated her for her weak eliment, and called her inferior, yet he never tried to hurt her or her friends when he persued them... She remembered how different he'd looked when he'd laughed at how ridiculous her brother had looked when he'd tried to attack the prince on several occasions, which even she, herself, couldn't help but laugh at, at the time... He'd even laughed at her once, back when she'd stolen a water bending scroll from a band of pirates in an attempt to master water bending. She had been working on the water whip and had accidentally smacked herself in the head with the darn thing... That was the first time he'd kidnapped her... He'd told her that he wished she could understand why it was so important for him to capture the Avatar... He talked with great sadness, about how he'd fallen from Grace and had to bring in the Avatar in order to restore his honor... But in her opinion, he'd always been honorable... He never attacked them when thier back was turned. He always made sure that they were aware of his presence before he Bagan fighting them...

Prince Zuko wasn't perfect... But he was a saint compared to this monster! Katara stayed locked in her own mind as Zhou continued to abuse her, no longer screaming and crying the way he had been enjoying her doing so in the earlier weeks since her capture... Zhou grew angry with her silence as he released into her yet again, and began cruely beating her, hoping to get a reaction from her, but she refused to show any discomfort, any pain, or any fear...

" No matter what you do to me, no matter how much you hurt me... Your nothing compared to prince Zuko... He's got more honor then you'll ever have, and I'd rather be with him then you any day! I'd give anything to be free of you!" Katara screamed angrily, her eyes glittering with hatred.

Zhou growled as he yanked her up off of the bed and hurled her at the wall, effectively snapping the delicate bones in her right leg... She was already paralized because of the arrows she'd seen shot with so many weeks ago, but she still felt the pain of her broken leg... Zhou grabbed her yet again, only this time, he had a hold of her left leg... Taking the limb in both hands, he grinned wickedly as he forcefully bend her leg at an unnatural angle until he heard the satisfying pop of bones breaking yet again... Katara screamed horsely as her body was slowly broken and begged for death to claim her... Her arm was still broken and was throbbing painfully aszhou grabbed it and twisted it as well, breaking it in yet another place... Dropping her back to the floor in a broken and bleeding heap, Zhou calmly got dressed, before grabbing her broken arm yet again and dragging her to the main deck... For the main part of Zhou's crew, seeing the beauty being dragged up naked and bleeding was a terrible shock... Many were outraged at thier captain for abusing the girl so terribly...in fact, all of them were very angry at the monster... All of them, with the exception of the five soldiers... Zhou barked orders at his five soldiers, who eagerly did the captains bidding. They were eager to see the girl be tortured yet again... Once the five soldiers had Kataras body lashed to the whipping post, the torture soon began anew... Each of the five soldiers enjoyed using fire whips on the poor girl, ten from each... By the end of it, the poor girl was barely breathing... She'd suffered a total of a hundred and fifty lashes...

" Your usefulness has come to an end my dear... Now you can join prince Zuko's mother in the spirit world..." Zhou said, giving her one last bruising kiss...

Then she was thrown overboard into the depths of the sea...


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 4: Unlikely Savior

Katara was blissful as the warmth of the sunkissed ocean engulfed her, despite the pain she felt from the brine in her wounds, the liquid was a blessed comfort... She could see her mother awaiting her in the spirit world, although she had tears in her eyes, for Kya did not wish for her daughter to be leaving the world of the living so soon... Her mother glowed with an ethereal light as she embraced her daughter, or her daughter's soul rather...

" Katara, it's not your time, my darling..." Kya said gently as she pulled back...

" Mom... I can't go back... I'd be paralized... I'm a ruined girl, no boy would ever want to be with me..." Katara said sadly, tears gathering in her eyes...

" You don't know how wrong you are..." Kya said stroking her daughter's face gently, " Your destiny is something very special..."

"Mom..." Katara choked.

" I know what you went through my darling... And I agonized over the fact that I wasn't able to help you... But it's not yet your time to leave the world of the living... You have a destiny to help restore balance to the world..." Kya said hugging Katara, " You are more strong then you realize my darling, you will heal, and you will be a powerful water Bender..."

Katara cried as her mother's soul faded from veiw and she was left, her soul weathered to her broken body, unsure of what to do, but unwilling to return to it... Several miles away, prince Zuko was minding his own business, when a flash of blue light caught his eye... It wasn't much at first, just a twinkle, like a little blue star floated in front of him, just for a moment, before it began glowing brighter and started to expand... Another blinding flash of light, and prince Zuko was face to face with a beautiful blue eyed woman in her 30's her ethereal light hypnotic as her hair blew in the wind around her... Prince Zuko was speechless as the entity moved closer to him, and reached out her hand to gently touch his scarred face...

" You are the fire prince, are you not?" Kya asked.

Unable to speak at the moment, prince Zuko could only nod his head yes...

" Your of the fire nation, yet you've never tried to kill another being, correct?" Kya asked again.

" No ... I'm not my father..." Prince Zuko said angrily, " I don't believe in hurting people..."

" Then my daughter is certainly a good judge of character... She often prays on your behalf, that some day, you will find love and happiness..." Kya said smiling warmly, but her expression grew very sad, " My daughter wishes to die... She is willing herself to die as we speak..."

" Who is she?!" Prince Zuko said, a hint of panic in his voice, " Where is she?! Tell me who she is!"

" The spirits only let me say so much... I cannot tell you who she is, or who I am... Only that she is dying and needs someone to help her quickly... Are you willing to save a young woman you don't know?" Kya asked.

" Of course! I can't just let her die, no matter who she is!" Prince Zuko said angrily, " Where is she?!"

" She is floating in the ocean several feel ahead of you..." Kya said sadly, " Only you can help her... Please save my daughter..."

As Kya began to fade, prince Zuko grabbed her sleeve.

" What happened to her?" Prince Zuko asked, his heart clinching in his chest.

He had a terrible feeling in the pit of his stomach.

" I'm afraid I cannot say... But she needs you right now..." Kya said sadly as she once again began to fade...

At this point, Zukos uncle and his crew had noticed the entity and slowly began making there way over...

" Save her prince Zuko... It is your destiny..." Kya said as she faded completely...

" Prince Zuko?" Iroh said worriedly, " Who was that?"

"Never mind, uncle... Set a course for strait ahead, but we sail slowly! Men, watch the water for any signs of anyone needing help!" Prince Zuko commanded, " I want all eyes searching for a young girl, quickly!"

' Please don't let it be her...' Prince Zuko thought worriedly, ' Please, let her be safe with the Avatar and her friends...'

But Prince Zuko's heart sank as the captain called for him to come over, a look of pure revulsion on his face...

" Your highness!" The captain said with alarm, " We found a body over here!"

" Don't just stand there! Someone get them up here! Quickly!" Prince Zuko shouted as his captain and some of the crew began readying a life boat to lower down to the person floating in the water below... Once the boat was ready, iroh went down with the captain to help pull the body to safety and were shocked at what they saw...

" Pull us up! Quickly!" Iroh ordered in a panic, " Dear God... Who would do this?!"

As the boat slowly raised and hovered over the deck, prince Zuko gasped when he saw the glint of the blue water tribe necklace again smooth mocha colored skin...it was in fact, the young girl that traveled with the Avatar... Prince Zuko quickly ran towards his uncle and the girl and knelt down to check over her injuries... They were very severe... The majority of the burns on her legs and abdomen were terribly infected and her skin was burning hot to the touch... But she was breathing fast and labored...

" She's alive..." Prince Zuko said angrily, " But barely... Who could have done such a horrible thing?!"

" She's the Avatar's friend, my nephew... It must have been a failed assassination attempt..." Iroh said gravely.

" Your highness..." The captain said hessatently, " We can't just leave her... She'll surely die if we do..."

" What kind of person do you think I am?!" Prince Zuko growled angrily, " Do you really think I could be so heartless as to leave an injured woman?! She'll stay with us until she's healed enough to go back to her friends..."

Prince Zuko knelt down, and started to gather the girl into his arms, when her legs and right arm fell limply at unnatural angles... That's when prince Zuko noticed the true extent of her injuries... There was a great deal of blood and bodily fluids caked in between her legs, suggesting that she'd been far more than just assassinated... She'd been repeatedly violated by a man... Maybe even several... Prince Zuko shook with an intense hatred at who ever could have done such a terrible thing to her... Even though they were Enemies, he could never imagine hurting her the way she'd been hurt... There were deep purple bruises covering her face and neck, an obvious sign that she'd also been beaten mercilessly...

" Uncle..." Prince Zuko choked, his sarrow making his tongue feel thick, " Get me a blanket, please..."

At this point, the captain, the men of the crew and iroh had now realized the severity of the girls injuries... Iroh felt tears slide down his cheeks as he made his way over to prince Zuko and the naked injured girl, and gently wrapped her in the blanket...

" Who would do such a thing to such a sweet girl?!" Iroh said sadly, " She's a gentle creature... Zuko, we need a healer right away, if there is even a slight chance of saving this girl's life..."

" Where do we go?" Prince Zuko asked.

" We need to head back to the northern water tribe... They have water benders there who are well versed in the art of healing... "

Prince Zuko nodded, his first thought only on the girl in his arms...

" Set a course for the northern water tribe... Full speed!" Prince Zuko ordered.

" There aren't any vacant rooms on my ship... But I'll keep her in my room, I have a velvet couch I can sleep on... I'll give my bed to her..." Prince Zuko said, " Uncle, someone needs to clean her wounds though..."

Iroh gave prince Zuko a sympathetic look.

" There are no women on this ship... Who do you think should do it?" Iroh asked.

Knowing that indecent thoughts were the farthest thing from the young princes mind, iroh laid a gentle hand on his shoulder...

" I can see how badly you wish to help her, my nephew... Do what ever your heart leads you to do..." Iroh said wisely.

Knowing what his wise old uncle meant, Zuko nodded and carefully carried the unconscious girl to his room to start his task of bathing and dressing her wounds...


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 5: Zuko's Conscience

Once Prince Zuko got to his cabin, he gently laid the girl down on his bed and began warming a basin of fresh clean water so that he could begin his task... He was very concerned that she had yet to wake up, but decided that since he was about to do something very awkward and quite personal, it'd be best for her to sleep through it... His face flamed crimson as he gently dipped the cloth in the warm water and began gently washing her...

" I should never have let the Avatar have you back..." Zuko choked, gently stroking her hair as he continued his task, " You would never have been exposed to something so horrible if you would have stayed with me... I'm so sorry you were so alone... I'm so sorry for your suffering and your pain..."

Prince Zuko continued to gently wash the girl on his bed, trying desperately to recall what it was the Avatar and her brother had called her... He washed her injuries down below last, after he washed her burns on her arm, legs and back. Then, as an after thought, he found some of his mother's herbal hair cleanser and gently began washing her hair of the sweat and dirt... With all the natural oils in his mother's hair cleanser, it naturally softened her hair even more... After rinsing, he heated up his hands and began running his warm fingers through her hair until it was dried thoroughly... Prince Zuko still had a deep blush as he started to wrap her injuries, when there was a gentle knock on the door.

" Come in..." Prince Zuko said, as he stopped what he was doing and covered her with a cool silk sheet... Iroh gently opened the door and stepped over to prince Zuko, a grave look on his face...

" The men wish to know how badly the girl was injured..." Iroh said, his anger at such injustice evident, " I told them I would conduct a thorough examination and let them know as soon as I can..."

" Her injuries are terrible uncle..." Prince Zuko said angrily, " She's in so much pain that she's gone into acoma... I don't know what else to do for her .."

"Injuries as horrible as hers... They will take a long time to heal... Even a skilled healer won't be able to completely heal her..." Iroh said sadly, " She has been through hell and back... The damage is more then skin deep..."

Prince Zuko hadn't ever been around any women who had been abused, so he wasn't sure what would happen if the wakes up... As if hearing his thoughts, iroh spoke up again...

" When she does come to, she will have constant night terrors, she will have a terrible fear of men, and she will be afraid to let anyone touch her... This could take a long time to overcome, if she can overcome it at all..." Iroh said, " Are you really prepared for this?"

" Enemy or not, I want to care for her... And at least she'll be protected as long as she's with us... Every man on my ship have wives, or daughters or granddaughters..." Zuko said with confidence, " I'm positive that they will treat her as they would they're own family..."

The captain, a man named Khan, eased open the door just then, a concerned look on his face...

" General iroh, Prince Zuko, the men wish to know, will the girl be alright?" Captain Khan asked worriedly.

" As of right now, the injuries we can see are very bad... But she may also have internal injuries..." Iroh said gravely, " We won't know the full extent of the damage until we get a healer to check her over as well..."

" I understand, sir... Let us know if there is anything else you need to make her more comfortable..." Captain Khan said with clear sincerely and a fatherly air.

Prince Zuko wiped the sweat from his brow as he fell onto the couch, physically and mentally exhausted... He wanted desperately forher to wake up, and yet, he couldn't help being afraid of her reaction once she laid eyes on him... Her breathing was still very labored, but despite that, her fever had gone down quite a bit. For that, the prince was thankful...

" Uncle, how long until we get to the north North Pole?" Prince Zuko asked.

He knew they were in earth kingdom waters, judging by how warm they were, so it would probably be a very long time, maybe a week or two... But time was not on thier side. The girl still had a terrible infection despite having her wounds cleaned, and therefore, was still in terrible danger of dying from her wounds...

" We may not make it in time to save her my nephew... It will be at least two weeks or longer..." Iroh said gravely.

Just then, a thought struck Zuko, his stormy golden eyes alight with newly acquired hope...

"Uncle! Fetch me a pen and a piece of paper! Quickly! And get the fastest messenger hawk we have!" Prince Zuko said, a look of strength and determination in his eyes, " I've got an idea..."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 6: Temporary Truce

Still greived over the death of thier friend and sister, Aang, Sokka and Toph had fled to a small remote town in the earth kingdom, trying to come to terms with what happened...

" Why?!" Sokka choked angrily, " Why did they have to kill my baby sister?! She never hurt a fly! She even helped prince Zuko a few times when him or his men got injured! So why her?!"

" I don't know Sokka..." Aang said sadly, trying to keep his tears at bay, " Maybe they thought she was me?"

Sokka shot Aang a deadly glare...

" You know what?!" Sokka growled angrily, " This is your fault Aang! This is all your fault!"

Sokka grabbed Aang and slammed him into the wall of the small house they had been renting from an old farmer and his wife... Aang gasped his small body wracked with pain... Sokka had never said anything so hurtful before...

" But you and Katara said you were my friends!" Aang said, his stormy grey eyes watering, " I tried my best to keep you guys safe!"

" Are we safe now Aang? Are we?!" Sokka shouted angrily, " Look around you stupid stupid kid! We're down to three now because my sister is dead! She's dead and it's all your fault!"

Sokka brought his fist back, intent on pounding the Avatar to a bloody pulp when Toph encased his hand in a wall of rock...

" That's enough Sokka!" Toph screamed angrily, " Hurting Aang won't bring your sister back! We have to stick together, otherwise, we'll all end up dead! Katara would want us to stay United!"

Sokka's anger quickly deflated, leaving a hallow ache in his chest... He felt simply horrible about how he'd treated Aang...

" I'm sorry..." Sokka said regretfully, " I just... Wish we could have saved her..."

" I know, Sokka..." Aang said sadly.

Suddenly, there was a loud screeching sound outside the door of thier house, followed by a loud tap tap tapping on the door... Confused, sokka opened the door but there was no one there... Or so they thought... After shutting the door and turning to face his friends, Sokka was surprised see a hawk perched on Aang's shoulder...

" Aang... That's a fire nation messenger hawk!" Sokka exclaimed.

" I know... He has a message on him." Aang said as he reached up and stoked the birds silky feathers.

" I know..." Aang said.

" Maybe it's fire nation secrets or something..." Toph said, " I hope it is..."

Aang opened the letter and began reading it aloud.

" Avatar, I am in dire need of your services... We have a passenger that is gravely injured, and the injuries are terribly infected... We need your bending abilities to help us reach the North Pole at a much faster speed if we are to have any hope of survival... Please understand that I wish for a Truce in order to save my passenger's life... If you are willing to lend us your assistance, send a message to let me know what you decide... Your help will be most appreciated, and I hope to hear from you soon...

Sincerely,

Prince Zuko."

Aang looked at Toph and Sokka with shock and worry on his face..

" What should we do Aang?" Sokka asked worriedly, " It could be a trap..."

" When have we ever known prince Zuko to lie in order to get to me? I think we should help, at least check it out any way..." Aang said worriedly, " I can't in good conscience, refuse to help someone just because of the nation thier from..."

" Alright, Aang... It's something that Katara would want us to do too..." Sokka agreed.

" Toph?" Aang asked.

" I agree... We can't ignore someone in need... I agree too..." Toph said, " If, for no other reason than in rememberance of Katara and her kindness..."

Aang quickly scribbled a short note and sent the hawk on his way...

" Now what?" Sokka asked.

" Now, we find Prince Zuko..." Aang said as they gathered thier belongings and got ready to leave...


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 7: Confused Enemies

Prince Zuko sighed a breath of relief when his messenger hawk came gliding over and landed on the rail of his ship...

"Your highness?" Captain Khan inquired, " What was the Avatars answer?"

Prince Zuko quickly read the note and smiled a little bit.

" They've agreed to help us... Thank God..." Prince Zuko said calmly, " prepare a room for our guests! They should be here any minute!"

Zuko's men quickly began thier task as iroh walked up beside Prince Zuko and gently laid a hand on his shoulder.

" You know you will need to inform them of who it is that needs healing, right prince Zuko?" Iroh said.

Prince Zuko was silent.

" Zuko... They are her friends... They need to know, my nephew..." Iroh said quietly, " They will want proof of the injured person, to make sure it's not a trap..."

" Uncle... The Avatar is only a child ... He has no idea how to deal with what was done to her!" Zuko said, his voice clipped, " He's a lover of peace... I don't think he could handle such horrible news right now... No, I'll tell them who it is later, after she's been treated and given some time for her injuries to heal..."

" How bad is she hurt?!" A worried, but familiar voice said from above them.

Aang and the others floated down to the deck of Zuko's ship, thier giant bison groaning as he landed. Aang landed gracefully in front of prince Zuko and bowed in respect.

" You said it was a girl who got hurt?" Aang asked worriedly.

" Yes." Zuko said, his voice purposely hard and devoid of emotion, " Thank you for agreeing to help us."

" Why not just let us take the girl to the North Pole for healing?" Aang asked, " We could get her there alot faster on appa..."

"No..." Zuko said walking away.

Aang jumped in front of him, worry clear in his eyes...

" Why not?!" Aang said defensively, " She would be getting treated alot faster!"

" Your just a child!" Prince Zuko shouted angrily, flames engulf his hands, " How could you possibly hope to protect her?! You haven't even mastered any eliments yet!"

Prince Zuko's anger was beginning to reach it's boiling point, when uncle laid a hand on his shoulder calmly.

" The girls injuries are very very severe... Moving her in such a manner would probably do her alot more harm..." Iroh said gravely, " Our ship, even with the speed you can help us acheive, young Avatar, would be a much safer course of action for us to take. If she has internal bleeding, as I strongly suspect she does, being moved and jostled around could easily kill her..."

" What happened to her?" Sokka asked worriedly.

" She was hurt by someone from the fire nation ..." Prince Zuko growled angrily, " To think anyone could be capable of doing something do evil..."

" Was it that bad?" Sokka asked worriedly.

" You have no idea ..." Prince Zuko said angrily.

"So..." Aang said cautiously, " What's her name?"

" I don't know her name..." Prince Zuko said looking away.

" You don't know her then? Is she a stranger?" Aang asked.

" Not exactly..." Prince Zuko said looking away.

" Wait!" Sokka said angrily, " Aang, how do we even know he's really got someone seriously injured on his ship?! We haven't even seen her!"

" She's in no condition for visitors!" Prince Zuko fumed, " Every minute we delay brings her closer to death! Do you want to be the cause of her death?!"

Aang hung his head as tears threatened to spill over... Prince Zuko had no idea of how much pain his hard words caused...

" No... Weather we can see her or not, I can't stand to be the cause of someone else losing thier life..." Aang said sadly...

Prince Zuko nodded and Aang got into position, so that he could use his waterbending to propel them through the water...

" Zuko!" Aang shouted, " Are we going in the right direction?!"

" Yes, the captain knows which direction we're heading..." Zuko said, " With this new speed, it should only take us a week to get there..."

" Prince Zuko?" Aang started.

" No... Just help us get there, alright?" Prince Zuko said tiredly, " You still can't see her right now..."


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 8: Questions

Aang kept up his pace, propelling the ship through the waters of the earth kingdom for three days before he finally collapsed from exhaustion. Despite iroh and Zuko constantly telling him to stop and rest and eat, he refused to listen, thinking of ly of how he'd already let Katara down, and voiced his thoughts to the prince when he questioned him...

" You need to eat something... When was the last time you and your friends ate anything?" Prince Zuko asked.

As much as he hated to admit it, but the kid was starting to grow on prince Zuko, and since the girl had often showed affection towards him and treated him like a little brother, Zuko began to feel the same way...

" Uh... So, what happened to the water Bender that used to travel with you guys?" Zuko asked, just wondering if they knew she'd been seriously injured...

" She got killed..." Aang said sadly, " That's why we wanted to help you... To honor her memory..."

" What was her name?" Prince Zuko asked, " None of us were really properly introduced..."

"Katara..." Aang choked out, " Uh... I'm sorry, but I'm not hungry..."

Aang ran off the deck of the ship to join his two remaining friends below, unable to keep from crying as he passed iroh and the other crew members as he ran to thier room... Iroh gave prince Zuko a whithered look before voicing his opinion to his nephew...

" Both the Avatar and his friends are refusing to eat... They are mourning thier friend when she is alive prince Zuko!" Iroh said, growing angry, " You must tell them who she is!"

Prince Zuko squeezed his eyes shut in an attempt to keep his own tears from spilling over...

" Uncle, if they find out it's Katara who's injured, they'll try to take her away!" Prince Zuko said angrily, " I can't allow them to do that with her injured so badly!"

" I will help you explain things to them..." Iroh said calmly, " They need to know that she is not lost to them just yet..."

Prince Zuko sighed heavily as he and iroh made thier way down to the room that the Avatar and his friends were in... Knocking twice, prince Zuko opened the door slowly so that he and his uncle could step inside...

" There's something you need to know about the girl we found injured..." Zuko said, cutting right to the point, " But you must swear not to attack me, my uncle, or anyone else on this ship..."

Aang and Toph both swore, but Sokka was still skeptical and very untrusting of the prince, as well as every other fire Bender for that matter...

" Why would we attack you?!" Sokka asked angrily, " Your not making any sense!"

" I didn't realize who it was until now..." Zuko said, looking away.

" Hey! He's lying!" Toph said with a gasp, " He does know who it is that was hurt! Who is it?!"

" Please..." Aang pleaded...

" You said Katara was killed right?" Zuko asked.

" Yes..." Aang whispered...

" Your wrong... My men and I found her floating in the ocean and brought her onto my ship... But she was severely beaten and badly burned..." Prince Zuko said gravely...

" But my sister's alive! Right?!" Sokka asked excitedly.

" Barely... Her injuries and burns are badly infected, and she is bleeding internally..." Zuko said angrily.

" What are we waiting for?!" Sokka said angrily, " I demand to see my baby sister!"

Sokka made a move to push Zuko out of the way, but iroh put a hand on Sokka's shoulder.

" There's more you need to here, young man..." Iroh said sadly.

" What do you mean?" Sokka asked worriedly, " You said she was burned and badly beaten... What else could you possibly tell me that could be worse?!"

" Katara was..." Prince Zuko choked back his own sadness, " Katara was also assaulted by a man... Several times... Probably hundreds of times... She's still bleeding very badly..."

" We aren't professional physicians..." Iroh said solemnly, " But we've done everything in our power to make her comfortable... We still don't know all the damage that was done to her... But she is in such severe pain, she has been in acoma since the day we found her..."

" I don't understand..." Aang said innocently, " You mean a man hit her, right? She was beaten and burned, so that means that she was hit?"

" Uncle... Talk to Aang..." Zuko said in a flat voice, " I'm going to check on Katara..."

" Wait!" Sokka choked, " Please... Let me see my sister..."

Zuko simply nodded and began leading Sokka to his room, Aang and Toph quickly fell into step with them, as well as iroh... Although they had been told the extent of her injuries, they were still highly unprepared for the sight of her... With her hair fanned out on the silk pillow, her eyes glued shut, and her face badly bruised and swollen, Katara didn't even look like herself... The only indication that prince Zuko and his uncle were even speaking the truth, was thier mother's necklace shining against her skin ...

" Katara..." Sokka choked as he rushed over and knelt by her bedside...

Katara's fever had rose again and her body was pouring out sweat as Sokka grasped her fevered hand in his...

" I'm so sorry..." Sokka choked,v" We should never have left you..."

" I'm doing everything I can to help your sister..." Prince Zuko said, growing angry, " And I plan on executing everyone that is responsible for the pain they caused her... You have my word as a prince..."

Despite his hatred of the fire nation, Sokka couldn't bring himself to continue hating prince Zuko after he'd saved his little sister and is at this very moment, trying to help her heal...

" Only on one condition..." Sokka said angrily...

" Anything." Prince Zuko answered.

" I want them to suffer!" Sokka said angrily.

Aang ignored the two older boys and crept over to the bed where Katara laid and gently placed his small arms around her, causing her to cry out in excruciating pain... Aang jumped back and stumbled to the ground, his tears flooding his eyes...

" I only hugged her!" Aang whimpered, " All I did was hug her!"

" I told you Aang..." Zuko said gently, " She's very badly hurt... You can't touch her right now, not even to hug her... Her right arm and both legs are broken in several places as well..."

Aang, unable to stand seeing his friend so battered and broken, sat in the corner of the room and cried for his injured friend... Sokka and Toph quickly took ahold of Aang's arms and began leading him back to thier room, but the image of Katara, so horribly broken, was already seared into his brain... He knew it was his fault... No matter what anyone said... It was his fault, for he knew that the arrows didn't kill her all along... That would be a secret he could never reveal to his friends... He would take it with him to his grave...


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 9: Awakening

Four days later and prince Zuko's ship finally made it back to the North Pole... But they were not welcome with open arms... The water benders were quick to subdue them in ice...

" Run up the white flag!" Prince Zuko ordered, " Do not fire back, show them we mean them no harm!"

After the flag went up, the water benders began boarding prince Zuko's ship, thier weapons still drawn in defense...

" Who are you and what do you want here?" An older man stated hautily.

" We have a water Bender who has been severely injured by the fire nation..." Prince Zuko said calmly, " We came here to get help for her..."

" We don't want your kind here!" A younger man yelled angrily, " Leave! Before we kill every one of you!"

Zuko was getting extremely angry, were these people really that stupid?! Prince Zuko grabbed the idiot with lightning quick movements and ignited a fireball close to the fools face...

" I suggest you listen to us you fool..." Prince Zuko growled darkly, " We came here peacefully to seal help for a young girl who was terribly injured... It would be best if you cooperate and help us heal her... Otherwise you'll be reduced to ashes! Understand?!"

The young man gulped and swallowed back his protest as the fire prince glared feircely at him...

" Anyone else got a problem with helping our friend?" Zuko asked angrily.

The various water tribe warriors shook thier heads nervously and backed away...

" Good... Now get me the best healer you have, her condition is highly critical..." Zuko said, somewhat more calmly, "Please hurry..."

All the warriors left then, except for the old man...

" What?!" Zuko said angrily, his frazzled nerves on edge, " What is it?!"

" The girl, who is she? If I might ask?" The man asked, his voice hard, but showing a hint of concern, " Can you at least tell me her name?"

" She's the Avatar's water bending teacher... Katara..." Prince Zuko said, his voice a little less harsh.

" I'm master Paku... I was Katara and Avatar Aang's teacher, how badly is she hurt?!" Paku asked.

" Do you have healing abilities?" Zuko asked.

" I'm not the best healer, but I did have some lessons from Kanna... She's a master healer..." Paku said, " Does the Avatar know?"

" Yes... He and his other two friends have a cabin to themselves on my ship... They thought she died when she fell, that's why they left without her..." Prince Zuko said, his anger returning slightly, " I imagine that's probably what she was hoping they would think... She sacrificed herself so that they could escape..."

" Unfortunately, Katara is a very headstrong girl... She always put her friends and brother before herself..." Paku said grimly, " Although her heart was in the right place, she often did without, to ensure that her friends never did..."

This new information made Zuko very angry... No matter what, she should have made sure to keep up her strength as well...

" Come on..." Prince Zuko said, " Even a little medical expertise would be helpful..." Zuko said as he led the way to his cabin...

Paku looked at him questioningly when he opened the door and looked inside to see some pillows and blankets thrown on a velvet couch in the corner of the room...

" I've been sleeping on the couch in here so that I can keep an eye on her vitals... She's been having a harder and harder time breathing as of late..." Prince Zuko said, his eyes shining with worry.

Master Paku nodded and made his way over to the still form laying on the oversized bed... His heart was breaking as he got closer and saw the horrors that she'd gone through, the aftermath evident on her fevered skin...

" Is she dressed?" Master Paku asked softly.

" No... When we found her, her clothing had been torn off of her... Uncle told me as well, that with the extent of her injuries, it wouldn't be a good idea to have her in any kind of restricting clothing..." Prince Zuko explained.

" Your uncle is very wise..." Paku said respectfully, " This young lady would surely be dead by now, if not for you and your uncle's care..."

Master Paku gently began removing the sheet from Katara's body, but when he attempted to move it below her waist line, prince Zuko stopped him by grabbing his arm, his eyes hard.

" Your highness... As a healer, I need to see all of the damage to her body if a I am to heal her effectively..." Paku said noting his cold stare, " Rest assured, I have no intention of harming her..."

" Forgive me .." prince Zuko sighed heavily, " She's been asaulted by a man... I just can't bring myself to leave her alone with one I don't know... Even if it is a healer, I still don't know you..."

" You care for her..." Paku said in surprise, " Why? Your the prince of the fire nation, why would you care about a water Bender?"

" We may have been enemies... But I've come to respect her strength and her kindness... She healed my uncle once, and healed me as well a while back, when I got frost bite my first visit to the North Pole..." Prince Zuko explained, " She's not like other people I've met, who only show hatred towards me for where I'm from..."

" She saw good in you..." Paku said smiling sadly, " It's who she is..."

After thier talk, prince Zuko allowed Paku to continue the examination, his face growing more and more distressed as he went over the girls injuries... When he was finished, his face was hard with anger...

" What's been done to this innocent young woman is completely uncalled for!" Paku said angrily, " It's barbaric!"

" I've already informed Katara's brother and friends that I will personally execute the ones responsible... There's only one person who could even come close to being this evil..." Prince Zuko said angrily, " Commander Zhou..."

" Yes, I've seen the damage that sick excuse for a human could do... No doubt he probably tortured her to get information on the Avatar..." Paku said angrily.

Prince Zuko was silent as an elderly woman made her way into the room, along with several other healers and the Avatar and his friends close behind her.

" There is no reason for a damn audience!" Prince Zuko yelled angrily, " Please! Just heal her!"

" I will do all I can..." Kanna said sadly, " But her chances are slim... I can sense that her injuries are very great... Her spinal cord was severed by the arrows that were in her back, and her right arm as well as both legs are broken... The nerves in her legs and arms are severely damaged as well... If she does live, she'll most likely never walk or bend again..."

For the first time since bringing Katara on board his ship, finally let his tears fall freely... Kanna laid a gentle hand on his shoulder and gave him a sympathetic look.

" You will be a much better fire Lord then your father... Compassion is the best medicine to heal our broken nation's..." Kanna said gently, " I'll do the best I can... The rest will be up to her, weather or not she makes a complete recovery..."

The first couple of hours were absolutely horrible... The screams that ripped from Katara's throat, tore thier hearts out in sympathy as Kanna and her fellow healers had to rebreak Katara's bones, so that they might heal properly... It was awful... Yet no matter how she screamed and cried in pain, Katara's eyes wouldn't open...

" I don't understand, why has she not woken up?!" Prince Zuko asked worriedly, " If she's able to scream because of her pain, why won't she wake up?!"

" I'm afraid it's not that simple... Katara can feel pain right now, yes, but she's been through a horribly tramatic experience..." Kanna said sadly, " We can do our best to heal her physical wounds... We can't erase the horrors she went through... She has to want to wake up on her own... Tell her friends and her brother that they can see her now... But she may never wake up..."

Kanna looked mournfully at the shell of a girl who had once been so vibrant and full of life and she'd a few tears of her own, as she and her fellow healers exited the ship... After they were gone, prince Zuko quietly went over and sat on the bed beside Katara's still form, her quick, rapid breathing the only indication that she was still alive... Remembering what Kanna had said about Katara still being able to hear someone talk to her, prince Zuko began talking to her, pouring his heart out to the girl he'd once called his enemy...

" Katara... I'm so sorry for what's been done to you..." Prince Zuko said, his eyes full of tears, " Your one of the strongest, most amazing people I know... I know what you've been through is horrible... I know that your in a lot of pain, and it's so much easier to just give up then to come back after what you've been through... But I want you to know how I have come to feel about you... Believe me, for a while there, I did my best to convince myself that I hated you because of how you made me feel... But that was the biggest and stupidist lie I've ever told... Your the reason why I couldn't stop chasing the Avatar... After what my father had done to me all those years ago, I was in such a dark place... Then I traveled to the South Pole where I met... An incredibly brave and firey young woman, who showed absolutely no fear, only strength and love and a fierce determination to protect her friends... If you wake up, I'll do whatever I can to help you get stronger... I'd do anything for you... I..."

Just then, the door flew open and the Avatar and his friends burst into the room...

" Zuko!" Aang asked worriedly, " Is she gonna be ok?!"

" I'll let you three visit with your friend..." Zuko said, aggrivation clear on his face, " But you are not to take her anywhere, do you understand?! You three are free to come and go as you please, but she must stay until she is fully healed... Otherwise the consequences would be deadly... Remember that..."

Zuko then left the room and Aang quickly perched lightly on the bed, his tears back again as he leaned down and pressed his forehead against Katara's...

" Katara..." Aang choked, " I still don't understand what was done to you besides being beaten and burned... But I honestly hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me..."

Suddenly, eyes that had not been able to open for over a week, slowly opened... Katara's vision cleared and looked into Aang's steal grey eyes... And screamed...

Authors notes: Sorry for such a long chapter, but as you can see, alot has happened in this chapter... I do hope everyone likes my story so far, reviews will be greatly appreciated...


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 10: Understandable Fear

Prince Zuko shot off like a bold of lightning, the minute he heard Katara's terrified screams and flew down the stairs to his cabin, nearly bowling over uncle iroh and several other crew members in the process... Thrusting open the door, prince Zuko was shocked at the sight that lay before him... Katara, sitting up in bed, her eyes wide and full of fear, screaming at her friends and older brother to stay away from her and leave her alone...

" Just get away from me! Please! Stay away!" Katara screamed, her eyes wild and full of panic...

" Katara..." Aang said cautiously, his voice full of hurt, " it's me... Aang... We're your friends..."

Aang once again, attempted to get close to her so that he could comfort her by giving her a hug... But when he got too close, Katara used her only able arm to bend the water out of a nearby basin and made it into a razor sharp ice dagger... She swung the dagger wildly as Aang continued to try and get close enough to hug her.

" I don't know you! Leave me alone, or I swear! I'll kill you!" Katara screamed fearfully...

" Aang!" Prince Zuko yelled, " Leave her be, she's not herself!"

But Aang refused to listen... Using his air bending, he quickly got behind her and wrapped his arms around her... But instead of comforting her, it scared Katara even more... She couldn't remember the boy as a friend... He was a male, and a male is exactly what had hurt her so badly... She held nothing but fear towards them...

" No!" Katara screamed, " Don't hurt me! Please don't hurt me!"

Katara plunged her ice dagger deep into Aangs arm, cutting a large gash in it, before slamming her head into his stomach and sending him flying off the bed, hold his bloody injured arm...

" Just leave me alone!" Katara screamed horsely, " Please... Leave me alone..."

Aang, his heart breaking because of Katara actually fearing him, ran from the room in tears after he apologized for trying to hug her... Sokka and Toph quickly followed to make sure thier injured friend wasn't too seriously injured... Leaving only Zuko alone with the terrified Katara... Katara was panting heavily, her good arm raised to defend herself again with her weapon, her other arm wrapped and put in a sling to keep from her moving it too much... Zuko moved cautiously, his arms raised in an attempt to show her that he means her no harm...

" Katara..." Prince Zuko said calmly, " I'm... I'm glad your awake..."

" I... I know you..." Katara said hesitantly, " Your prince Zuko..."

" You remember me?!" Prince Zuko asked in shock.

" Yes... Bits and pieces of our encounters with each other..." Katara said in confusion, " You were always chasing me... There were some other people too... But I can't remember them..."

" Your brother and the Avatar... The Avatar is the one I was trying to capture..." Prince Zuko said easing closer, " Can you remember anything else?"

" I remember a man... Alot older than you... He was cruel and hateful..." Katara said shuddering at the memory, " I thought he was after the Avatar... But he said he could care less about the at the moment because there were so many things he could enjoy with a woman... I'm sorry! I can't!"

On impulse, Zuko approached the bed and sat beside Katara and gently drew her to him, embracing her awkwardly, considering he hadn't hugged anyone in a long time...

" It's alright... I'm sorry for what you went through..." Zuko said angrily.

" Why do you care so much about me?" Katara asked suddenly, " I heard every word you said to me when I was unconscious... Why do I mean so much to you? Was I your girlfriend?"

" I wish..." Zuko said under his breath.

" What?" Katara asked.

" Nothing!" Prince Zuko exclaimed, his face flaming red, " I uh... I just hate seeing any girl hurt ... I'm sorry... Just let me know if there's anything I can do to help you feel better..."

" Can you do me a favor then?" Katara asked unsure.

" Sure. Anything..." Prince Zuko said looking deep into her eyes.

" That little boy from earlier, ask him and his friends to leave for now... Please..." Katara said sadly, " I can't remember anything about them right now, so I feel really uncomfortable with them around..."

" Are... Are you sure?" Prince Zuko asked skeptically, " You always were so protective of the Avatar, he seemed like a younger brother to you..."

" That's exactly my point... He's just a little kid... He doesn't understand what I went through and more importantly I can't bring myself to try and explain things to him... I'm... I'm not ready to talk about it yet..." Katara said sadly...

Prince Zuko thought a moment before speaking once again...

" You are staying on my ship as my guest, until you heal enough... In the meantime, I'll deliver your message to the Avatar and his friends your message..." Prince Zuko said getting up, " By the way, why would you want to stay with me?"

" I remember you kidnapped me before... But you're far more honorable then most men I've met..." Katara said blushing, " You've never once tried to hurt me, and you've definitely never leared at me before, so I won't have to worry about a repeat of what... That horrible man did to me..."

" Never..." Prince Zuko said fiercely, his eyes alight with his inner fire, " As long as your under my protection on my ship, I'll never let anyone put you through that ever again!"

' You have my word... As the crowned prince of the fire nation...' prince Zuko thought as he once again wrapped his arms around her, ' Not as long as I can protect you...'

Prince Zuko stayed with Katara until her breathing evened out and she fell into a deep sleep...


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 11: Amnesia

General Iroh watched his nephew with a sad smile on his face as he tucked Katara into bed and snuck in a quick kiss on the forehead, before he tiptoed to the door of his room...

" She's resting comfortably uncle..." Zuko said sighing, " Maybe her recovery will be faster then we first thought... If she's able to get to sleep so fast..."

" I'm afraid it's not that simple..." Iroh said sadly, " The child has been through a lot and has alot of things to work through before she'll even be close to being back to her old self... If she ever gets back to her old self... The damage that was done to her innocent body and mind has interrupted her flow of chi as well... She'll probably need alot of counseling as well as love and attention from her friends..."

" Your wrong about that, uncle... She has amnesia... " Zuko said sadly, " She can't remember the Avatar or her brother... And more to the point, she told me that she'd rather not have them around right now... Especially since the Avatar is just a little kid... He doesn't even understand how those types of urges work or anything... He's probably too young to even get those feelings yet!"

" Aang will not be very happy about not being able to stay with her..." Iroh said gravely, " You know how attached he is to Katara..."

" Yeah, I know..." Zuko said worriedly, " That may be a problem..."

Iroh walked with prince Zuko up to the deck where the Avatar and his friends waited anxiously for news on Katara's condition... As well as prince Zuko's entire crew...

" Zuko!" Sokka said, rushing over, " My sister! Will she be alright?! When can we take her with us?!"

" Katara is in no condition to be going anywhere for a long while yet..." Iroh said sadly...

" But..." Sokka began worriedly...

" But nothing!" Zuko said angrily, flames erupting out of his hands and mouth, " Your sister just had the worst possible thing any girl could ever go through happen to her! She was raped and beaten multiple times! She's lucky to even still be breathing! She will not be leaving my ship until I say she's well enough... And that won't be until she regains her memory and her ability to walk again..."

" You... You can't keep her as a prisoner..." Aang said, tears in his eyes, " Is rape really that painful?!"

Prince Zuko's anger erupted... In a flash, he had the Avatar by the throat and slammed him into the wall...

" You wanna know if rape hurts a girl that bad?! " Zuko asked menacingly, " I'll tell you... You know how different girls are from boys, right?!"

" Yes... The monks taught me the differences..." Aang gasped, "But I still don't understand..."

" Girls are born with a barrier... Boys have a different part... When boys reach a certain age, around thirteen or fourteen years old, they start getting certain urges that effect that part of the body... Especially if they like a girl... Men and women were made to fit together, in order to create a new life... When Zhou raped Katara, he basically ripped her insides! That's why she's in so much pain!"

Aang was absolutely appalled! How could anyone do something so vile to someone like Katara?! Aang gasped as the reality of what Zuko said sank in and all he could think of was that it was all his fault... He was terrified of the man that was after him and he had convinced all his friends that the arrows that shot Katara in the back had killed her, when he knew that Katara was still alive...

" I'm sorry Aang..." Zuko said, a slight note of remorse in his voice, " But you needed to understand the horrible truth about what she went through..."

" I'm glad you told me..." Aang said sadly, " But when can we see her again? I want to talk to her..."

" It's not that simple, young Avatar..." Iroh said sadly...

" What do you mean?!" Aang asked worriedly.

" I'm afraid Katara is suffering from amnesia..." Iroh said sadly, " She can't remember any of you... And it may be a long while before she regains it back... If she ever gets her memory back... I'm sorry... But it would be best if you and your friends leave for the time being..."

Tears flowing freely, Aang turned without a word and climbed up on appa, looking at Sokka and Toph expectantly... Getting the silent message, Sokka and Toph quickly climbed up behind thier friend in the saddle and looked back at prince Zuko and his uncle, as if to say something to them...

" I'm sorry for being so about how I told you what Katara went through..." Prince Zuko said sadly, " But I wasn't exactly sure how to to go about telling you... There was no way to sugar coat it... That girl has been dragged through hell and back... I'm sorry Aang..."

" No..." Aang said sadly, " I'm glad you told me... "

Aang looked like he aged a century, sitting in the saddle with his eyes swollen and sunk in from all the crying he'd done over Katara and what she went through, but as he raised his arms to flick the reins, he stopped and looked back at prince Zuko one last time, the face of a young man who had once been his most hated enemy and uttered five words he never thought he'd say to the young fire prince...

" Take care of our friend..." Aang said sadly...

( Authors notes... This was longer then what I thought it would be, but I do hope that you all like it so far... As you can see, prince Zuko is starting to realize that he has feelings for katara. Stay tuned to see how things go!😁)


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 12: Road To Recovery

After the Avatar and his friends left his ship, prince Zuko went to the kitchen to personally make sure that Katara got something to eat so that she could start regaining her strength back as soon as possible... He piled two plates full of fruits, spiced meats and cheeses and got some honey nectar for them to drink as well... Once he was satisfied with the amount of food he got for them both, he turned around, intent on seeing to Katara's needs... When he smacked right in to a broad chest and an even bigger belly...

" Fixing yourself a snack, are you nephew?" Iroh asked, his eyebrow raised in question.

" Well... Uh... Sort of?" Prince Zuko said hesitantly.

" I see, you want to make sure our guests eats so she'll get better... Right, my nephew?" Iroh asked knowingly.

" Yeah..." Prince Zuko said, unable to mask the blush on his face, " I feel like it's my fault such a terrible thing has happened to her..."

" Now Zuko, how could it be your fault?!" Iroh asked in shock.

" I should never have let her go back to the Avatar in the first place!" Prince Zuko said angrily, " If I would have just fought harder to keep her my prisoner, she never would have gotten hurt! I could have kept her safe from that moster that hurt her!"

Crystal clear realization dawned on iroh as he looked at his nephew in sympathy, it was clear that the prince's feelings ran far deeper then he was willing to admit...

" What happened to Katara was not your fault, Zuko..." Iroh said sadly, " It was something that Fate wanted to occur, it's as simple as that..."

" That's a load of bullshit and you know it uncle!" Zuko yelled angrily, " The Avatar looked awfully guilty before he and his friends flew off... I think he knew she was alive all that time and was too afraid of Zhou to look for her!"

" I believe that you are right..." Iroh said sadly, " But we cannot change what has happened... And having annimosity towards the Avatar will not change what that poor girl has been put through... She needs you my nephew... Be strong... For her sake..."

" Your right uncle..." Zuko said, " I'll do everything I can for her..."

Iroh nodded and patted Zuko on the back, before heading down to his room where Katara lay resting... Knocking gently on the door he waited until he heard her soft sweet voice say ' come in' before gently easing open the door... Katara blushed as she saw prince Zuko enter the room, her eyes alight with nervousness...

" Please don't be afraid of me..." Prince Zuko said, raising his hands to show he meant no harm, " I just figured... Since you've been out for so long, you could use some food..."

Katara noticed the light blush that dusted across prince Zuko's cheeks and couldn't help but smile warmly at him...

' Since when did the big bad prince of the fire nation blush?!' Katara thought in astonishment, ' It's too cute...'

" Thank you..." Katara said softly.

Prince Zuko smiled at her as he made his way over to the bed and sat down lightly beside her, his eyes showing clear signs of worry...

" How are you feeling?" Prince Zuko asked, not at all attempting to hide his concern...

" I'm still hurting pretty bad all over..." Katara said sadly, " Especially... Uh..."

Prince Zuko gently took her by her good arm and tugged her to him so that he could wrap his arms around her... He couldn't help it, she was tired, weak, scared, and above all, in terrible pain... And all he could think of was to hold her like his mother had done for him so very long ago...

" Zuko... Thank you so much for taking care of me..." Katara said in tears.

" I don't care if we were once enemies..." Zuko said seriously, " I could never continue hunting the Avatar after you've suffered through... I want you to know that... Even though you don't remember anything about your friendship with him... Please know that I am speaking the truth..."

" I know you are, prince Zuko..." Katara said as she buried her face in his shoulder, " I'm so grateful that you found me... I would have died if it weren't for you..."

" Does it not matter to you that we used to be enemies?!" Zuko asked.

" Why should it?" Katara asked defensively, " Look at what you've done for me... You've already proven how much better you are then I remember you being... Your kinder then I thought you were when we first met..."

" So... What are you saying?!" Zuko asked.

" I'm saying that I'm thankful I have you to protect me... If you want, I'd like for us to be friends..." Katara said smiling weakly.

" Definitely..." Zuko said smiling and blushing at the same time...

From that day forward, Katara and prince Zuko were always together in prince Zuko's cabin, eating together, having tea and talking every day... After a few weeks, iroh approached prince Zuko to ask him how the girl was doing...

" She's still in a great deal of pain..." Prince Zuko said angrily, " I don't have any clue on what to do for her uncle! I feel so damn helpless! It's not like I can use my firebending to force the pain away from her!"

" Perhaps not..." Iroh said thinking, " But there is something else you can do for her... If she'll agree to it..."

" I'd do anything to help ease her pain..." Zuko said in full confidence, " What is it uncle?"


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 13: Healing Sessions

" Healing sessions?" Zuko asked his uncle...

" Indeed... We are about to pull into a seaport that has a miraculous woman who specializes in herbal medicine and remedies... She'll have all the necessary plants and elixirs to help speed up the healing process for her, even though it will still take several long months for her to recuperate..." Iroh said solemnly, " Are you up to the task?"

" Absolutely!" Zuko said excitedly, " I'll do whatever it takes to make her well again..."

" Good... We'll be there in a matter of a few hours..." Iroh said, laying a hand on his nephews shoulder, " I'm very proud of you prince Zuko... And I'm sure your mother will be proud of you as well..."

Prince Zuko smiled as iroh left to prepare the crew for docking and went back down to the kitchen, where he got a plate of sweet spiced biscuits and chammomil tea... His uncle had explained to him how Katara's stomach would need lots of soothing tea because of the painful experience she went through and prince Zuko was determined to care for her as much as possible... It'd now been several weeks since they'd found Katara so broken and injured, and by now, every crew member on Zuko's ship and there was no end to the offers he got to help care for her... Captain Khan was definitely most eager to do what he could to help her as well...

" Prince Zuko, would you like us to accompany you to the herbalist house?" Captain Khan asked, " It is earth kingdom territory... They may be hostile towards us because we are fire nation..."

" There's no need... I'll go alone, I want you and the rest of the crew to stay and help my uncle watch over Katara... Keep her safe..." Zuko said.

Zuko turned and left to check on Katara again... She'd seemed to be doing better since the Avatar left, but as he rounded the corner and got closer to the door to his cabin, he began hearing pained rapid breathing coming from inside his room... Zuko quickly entered the room and was at her side in an instant... She was pouring out sweat and her breathing was shallow and rapid... Her heart was beating erratically as well...

" Hold on..." Zuko said worriedly, " Please, please hold on!"

Zuko rushed out of the room and raced onto the main deck, slamming into a shocked captain Khan...

" Your highness! Is something wrong?!" Khan asked worriedly...

" Katara has a terrible fever again!" Prince Zuko said worriedly, desperately trying to stay calm, " How close are we to docking?"

" About an hour, at least..." Captain Khan said worriedly, " Will she be alright?"

" I don't know..." Prince Zuko said in defeat, " Find my uncle and have him come to my Chambers immediately... I need to know what he thinks her chances are..."

Prince Zuko then spun on his heal and quickly rushed down to his cabin once again, so that he could stay by Kataras side and keep watch over her... Iroh came rushing in a few hours later and immediately rushed to Katara's side and began checking her vitals.

" Will she be alright, uncle?" Prince Zuko asked worriedly.

" Her fever is dangerously high..." Iroh said worriedly, " Unless we can cool her down, I fear she will not live long enough to see the herbalist..."

" What can I do?!" Zuko asked worriedly.

" Have some men bring a tub in here right away... Make sure that they do not heat it or anything!" Iroh commanded sternly, " The water must be cold so that we can bring her fever down quickly!"

Prince Zuko nodded silently and rushed up on deck to give the men thier orders... Captain Khan watched with a fatherly concern as prince Zuko rushed back down the stairs to be with the girl once again... That young lady was just what the prince needed... And he prayed to every god and goddess to spare the girls life, for the prince's sake... The tub was delivered in a matter of minutes and quickly filled with water, then Prince Zuko got to work, slowly removing the bandages from her body... Then, averting his eyes, a slight blush on his face, Prince Zuko gently lifted Katara into his arms and gently placed her in the tub, before he started running small buckets of water over her body... After about an hour or so, Iroh came in to check on the girl and see what was going on...

" Zuko, the girls fever will not break in the traditional way... " Iroh said gravely, " This is from the venom of the rattlesnake dragons, one of the most lethal and painful poisons in all the fire nation... It is very hard to find the rare plants it needs for the antidote."

" Damn Zhou and his men!" Zuko growled angrily, " What about the herbalist?! Surely she has the plants we need!"

" We must hurry... Rewrap her wounds and cover her with a cool sheet to try and let her rest more comfortable, then we must leave at once, she only has an hour or so left, before the poison shuts down her heart..." Iroh said sadly.

Zuko closed his eyes in a brief moment of despair, before shouting orders at his men to dock quickly. Once docked, Prince Zuko grabbed one of thier fine white dragon horses from the stables below deck and took to the skies in search of the herbalist house... Thankfully it didn't take too long to find it... When his dragon horse landed, it scared a white cat half to death, which ran and hid under a large bush of dragon lilies... Dismounting quickly, Prince Zuko rushed around the house, hoping that the herbalist was home...

" Hello?! Hello?!" Prince Zuko called worriedly, " Please! A young woman has been terribly poisoned by rattlesnake dragons! I need the antidote as soon as possible or shell die!"

An eerie looking elderly woman with long get hair appeared suddenly in front of him...

" You are fire nation..." The herbalist said coldly, " Why is it I should help the fire nation?"

" Please, she's a girl from the southern water tribe... She's been severely injured by a fire Nation Admiral and she's dying as we speak! You've got to help her!" Prince Zuko said worriedly.

" I'll need proof before I give you the antidote..." The herbalist said, " Take me to this girl who's supposedly from the water tribes... If what you say is true, I'll give you the antidote... If it's someone from your nation, I won't be helping you..."

Angered by this, but having no other choice, Prince Zuko allowed the herbalist to ride on his dragon horse as they quickly flew back to his ship... Thankfully, the herbalist looked at Prince Zuko in a new light once she saw that Katara was indeed different from the fire nation...

" Prince Zuko..." The herbalist said gravely, " You must tell me what was done to this young woman if I am to help save her life... Leave nothing out..."

Prince Zuko immediately began informing the old woman of what had happened to Katara, the horrible tortures that she was forced to go through, and how it was that she came into his protection... When Prince Zuko was done relaying the tragic story, the herbalist was shocked to see unshed tears glittering in the Prince's eyes...

" I see..." The herbalist said in sympathy, " The herbs I have here should help the girl heal quickly, if you follow my instructions... You have to chew these herbs up until they are a fine paste and apply them to her wounds at least five times a day..."

The herbalist held one sack filled with what looked like small white carnations and the other bag had what looked like blue moon flowers in them... She then produced a third bag with several bushals of a very strong smelling medicinal herb in it.

" Chew two of each herb all together at once for each application. I have four other herbs that need to be chewed and force fed to her four times a day... Her fever should begin to subside in about a week after you start the treatments... But..." The herbalist began in a warning tone, " Do not give her the herbs individually or mix with anything else what ever you do... The herbs are highly toxic on thier own... Keep the three together for applying to her wounds and the other four together for her oral medicine..."

Prince Zuko imediately labeled the the bags and what the dosage was for each application and imediately got to work after the herbalist left... And so began Katara's healing sessions...


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 14: Growing Strength

For the next week, Katara remained in a catatonic state as prince Zuko continued to clean her fevered flesh, bandaged a weak and wounded body and fed her medicine to her mouth to mouth every day, four times a day... Despite the constant pleas from his uncle, prince Zuko refused to eat anything or sleep for that matter... His only thought was bringing Katara back to some semblance of health... More and more often, iroh would hear prince Zuko praying for Katara's health to return, even more surprising was the fact that he swore he'd forget about capturing the Avatar if it would restore her health...

" General iroh, the men and I wish to know..." Captain Khan inquired about a week and a half after the herbalist left, " Will the young lady ever wake?"

" In truth, I do not know..." Iroh said sadly, " I'm afraid hers is not the only health that is in jeopardy now... Prince Zuko is refusing to eat or sleep... He is constantly by her side and barely leaves to relieve his body or anything... I fear he is also becoming severely dehydrated as well... We may lose not only the girl, but the prince as well if she does not recover soon..."

". What exactly happened to her?!" Captain Khan asked worriedly, " She was doing so well!"

" She was poisoned with rattle snake dragon venom... That is why her health has taken a turn for the worse..." Iroh said gravely.

Captain Khan was speechless as iroh turned and headed to his nephews room, hoping beyond all hope that both would soon recover... Iroh eased open the door and watched in silence and watched as prince Zuko finished wrapping Katara's wounds and covered her with a cool silk sheet... Then he took one each of the herbs for her oral medicine and chewed them up for several minutes before gently placing his lips over hers and forcing the medicine down, a light blush dusting his cheeks...

" How is our guest today?" Iroh asked softly from the doorway...

Prince Zuko caughed in an attempt to hide how much he was actually enjoying the contract as he jumped away from the lady in question, his face blood red from embarrassment...

" Uh... Her wounds are finally healing nicely..." Prince Zuko said quickly, " But she still hasn't woken up yet..."

" As I suspected... Her body has been through a lot more then a young woman should have been put through..." Iroh said sadly, " There is no way to know when she will finally resurface..."

" I feel so helpless..." Zuko said angrily, " I feel like I have so much hatred for the Avatar... I want to blame him so badly for what that poor girl went through... I can't understand why I feel this way though! It's so damn frustrating!"

" Ah... I see... Could you maybe have developed feelings for the young lady?" Iroh asked knowingly.

" No! Maybe... No! Of course not!" Zuko said angrily, " I mean... Well I... I kind of like her as a friend, but we can't be friends! We're enemies!"

" Enemies do not feed each other medicine mouth to mouth, my dear nephew..." Iroh said grinning, " You've become quite fond of her, haven't you?"

" Yes..." Zuko said in a defeated voice, " She's so amazing, to have such a fighting spirit, even though most people would have given up after being tortured the way she was, she still wants to be here... She still wants to live..."

" And it is because of you, my nephew..." Iroh said smiling warmly, " You have no idea how much your friendship means to her... Your the reason she wants to live..."

Suddenly, both firebenders were drawn to a soft sound coming from the bed... A soft whimpering noise...

" Katara?" Prince Zuko asked, walking swiftly to her side...

" Water please..." Katara whispered softly.

Prince Zuko immediately got a cup of fresh clean water and watched as Katara sipped it daintily until it was all gone, then, for the first time in a week and a half, Katara's beautiful blue eyes opened...

" How are you feeling?" Zuko asked worriedly.

" Much better..." Katara whispered softly, " Thank you..."

" I'm glad you are feeling better..." Prince Zuko said, " Can I sit with you for a bit?"

" Of course..." Katara said blushing.

Katara blushed as prince Zuko sat down next to her on the bed and eased his arm around her shoulders, temporarily forgetting that she was naked under the sheet... Until it pooled in her lap exposing her breasts... Katara laid her head on prince Zuko's shoulder for a few moments before she realized how exposed she was and was quick to gather the sheet to her chest before timidly gaining Zuko's attention...

" Um... Prince Zuko?" Katara asked timidly, " Can I have some clothes to wear?"

Prince Zuko blushed and immediately went to his wardrobe, pulling out a fine silk dark red night shirt for her and found a silk belt to tie it around her waist with... Then he went back to the bed and handed it to her, a bit uncertain of what to say next...

" Uh... Do you... Do you need any help with that?" Zuko asked.

" Uh... I should be ok ..." Katara said blushing, " thanks though..."

Prince Zuko merely nodded and turned around to give her some privacy...

Katara whimpered softly as she raised her broken arm with the help of her other arm and slowly slipped both through the sleeves before easing it down over her upper body... The garment pooled around her lap and draped over her legs easily, the fabric cool and silky against her skin...

" You can turn around now..." Katara said blushing.

Prince Zuko turned around and was instantly struck speechless... Never before had he ever seen a more lovely vision in red... Her soft auburn hair had grown out quite a bit since they'd first brought her on board so many weeks ago...

" Red... Red looks really pretty on you!" Prince Zuko blurted out, face as red as can be...

" E... Excuse me?!" Katara said flustered.

" The dark red color compliments your complextion and brings out the blue in your eyes... You really look pretty..." Zuko said blushing and rubbing the back of his head, " Uh... Never mind, forget I said anything..."

" Um... Could you... Help me straighten the dress out and tie the belt please?" Katara asked shyly.

Prince Zuko nodded and carefully lifted her upper body off the bed so that the night shirt fell well past her knees, it was long enough to be considered a floor length dress... The night shirt also had a low scoop neck, so it showed quite a bit of cleavage, which Zuko was trying his best to ignore... His face was flaming by the time he was done helping her with her belt and laid her back on the bed...

" Thank you..." Katara said quietly...

There was an awkward silence between the two for a while, before Zuko got up and went to his wardrobe again, this time finding a small silk bag that belonged to his mother and gave it to Katara.

" What is this?" Katara asked.

" It belonged to my mother..." Zuko said softly, " My father wanted to destroy everything that belonged to her, but I snuck in and took some things before he could..."

Katara opened the pretty gold gold silk back with red firelilies on it and peered inside... She then carefully pulled out a beautiful gold and Crystal mirror surrounded by gold lilies encrusted in what looked like diamonds and rubies... There were also several small seashells each tied with a different color ribbon. Opening one, she realized that they were different colors of lip paint. There were different shades of reds and pinks as well as some pretty shades of peach... Katara was speechless...

" I figured... After what you've been through and how sick you've been and all... I figured you'd probably like to dress up a little bit..." Zuko said blushing, " Mom would have wanted someone like you to have them anyway..."

Katara blushed as she dipped her finger in the lip paint that was a pretty bergundy color and gently dabbed some on her lips, a faint blush tinting her cheeks... Looking up at the prince shyly, Katara blushed even more when she saw how much he was staring at her...

" Um... Do I look alright?" Katara asked.

All prince Zuko could was nod his head yes enthusiastically. Katara smiled shyly and looked away.

Several weeks later, Katara's strength began to slowly increase, her broken bones mended, her bruises and cuts healed, and although she still had the scars to show what she had been through, she was a survor... Prince Zuko continually fussed over her, always being overprotective when it came to her asking if she could leave the room... His answer was always irritating the same...

" You still haven't been able to walk yet Katara... You need more rest..." Prince Zuko said angrily.

" Zuko, if I'm stuck in this room one more minute, I'll surely die of boredom!" Katara exclaimed, her firey attitude finally back, " You've been wonderful to me and I'm so happy for you and your friendship... But I'd love to be able to get out and meet the members of your crew..."

" Alright..." Zuko said sighing, " One more day... Rest one more day, and I'll take you up on deck tomorrow and introduce you to everyone..."

Katara nodded, a triumphant grin plastered on her face... Later that night, she went to bed, anxiously awaiting the morning to come...


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 15: Introductions

The next morning, true to his word, prince Zuko helped Katara get a fresh night shirt on, this one made of white silk, and gave her a white sash to tie around her waist that belonged to his mother... She'd looked exquisite in red, but white was truly magnificent on her... Her mocha skin contrasted vibrantly with the white fabric, giving her an enticing ethereal glow... Her beautiful blue eyes took on a lighter clear blue with the color of the fabric, and she'd put a lighter shade of red on her full lips... Prince Zuko had found a hairpiece his mother had worn on her wedding day earlier that morning, and was excited to see what her reaction to it would be... Despite being of the fire nation, prince Zuko's mother loved every color she could get her hands on, her favorite being dark blue... Knowing this, her mother had bought her a beautiful silver rose hair comb with dark blue diamond encrusted in every petal...

" Katara, I have something else for you." Prince Zuko said as he walked over to her, a huge grin on his face, " I hope you will like it... It belonged to my mother as well..."

Katara gave him a questioning look as he extended his hand and opened it for her to see what was in it... Katara gasped as he handed her the silver comb with dark blue and white diamonds in it and held it in her hands as if it were a rare piece of glass in danger of shattering...

" Oh... It's beautiful!" Katara exclaimed blushing, " But Zuko, I can't take this! It's too much!"

" I want you to have it... Mother would surely agree that you deserve it after all you went through..." Prince Zuko said seriously, " Think of it as a token of my friendship for you..."

" Thank you so much..." Katara said smiling softly.

Prince Zuko gave her a lopsided grin and plucked the comb from her fingers, gently placing it in the hair up above her ear.

" Now you look like the princess of the southern water tribe..." Prince Zuko said smiling.

" What do you mean?!" Katara asked in surprise, " I'm not a princess!"

Iroh chose that moment to enter the room, obviously, he'd been eives dropping at the door, for he had an obnoxiously cheerful grin on his face, and had obviously come to tease prince Zuko, as he'd been doing all morning since the prince had told his uncle iroh, as well as all the crew, that they needed to look thier best for thier introduction to the young lady guest...

' Uncle...' prince Zuko thought blushing furiously, ' If you crack one perverted joke, I swear I'll throw you overboard!'

" Prince Zuko, are you ever going to introduce us to our young lady friend?! Or are you going to keep her in your room all to yourself?!" Iroh said grinning mischievously.

" Wait..." Katara said blushing, " This is your room?!"

Before Zuko could say anything, iroh busted out laughing...

" Oh prince Zuko!" Iroh said laughing loudly, " You have had this lovely young lady as your companion for weeks now and never thought to tell her that she was in your room?! Haha! That is hilarious! Shame on you!"

" It's not like that and you know it uncle!" Prince Zuko yelled angrily, smoke coming from his mouth and nose...

" Never mind, you do look very lovely my lady..." Iroh said, kissing her hand like a gentle man, " I really can't blame prince Zuko for wanting to keep you all to himself..."

Katara was speechless for a moment before finding her voice again...

" Who are you?" Katara asked.

" Ah... It's no surprise that your time awake has faded... I am general iroh... But you, young lady, may feel free to call me uncle..." Iroh said kindly...

" Thank you, general iroh..." Katara said smiling.

" Uncle..." Iroh corrected gently, " I insist."

" Alright..." Katara said blushing.

" Now then, prince Zuko? Will you help miss Katara into her wheelchair?" Iroh asked kindly, "Your crew is very anxious to meet our guest..."

" Of course..." Prince Zuko said.

Zuko placed one arm around her waist and the other under her legs and gently lifted her up into his arms and gently sat her in the wheelchair.

" Are you ready to meet everyone?" Zuko asked worriedly.

" Yes... As long as they won't hurt me for being from the southern water tribe..." Katara said nervously.

" Oh no!" Iroh exclaimed, " No one will ever harm you aboard this ship! Everyone of our crew has someone waiting for them, a sister, a wife, a daughter, a granddaughter! No one would dare harm a lady here!"

Feeling a bit better, Katara took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a few minutes before letting them know that she was ready to go. Prince Zuko gave her hand a reassuring squeeze before wheeling her out into the hallway, his uncle right behind him... When prince Zuko wheeled Katara up on deck, she was surprised to see the entire crew was on deck cheering for her.

" Your looking wonderful lady Katara!"

" Beautiful! We're so happy you're feeling better!"

" Is there anything I can get for you my lady?!"

" Are you hungry?!"

Katara was so overwhelmed, she was speechless as one by one, each of the crew members came up to her and gave her a hug, the older members gently giving her a kiss on the forehead or cheek...

' The older crew members must have grandchildren...' Katara thought to herself in surprise, ' I've never felt so welcome...'

" Alright, men..." Prince Zuko said seriously, " You all know what this young woman has been through... I want you each to introduce yourselves... I want to make her stay here as comfortable as possible..."

The first to step forward was a man in his midforties, light grey hair and a beard.

" My name is captain Khan. I am honored to meet you, my lady .." Khan said warmly.

" It's nice to meet you." Katara said shyly.

The rest of the day went by quite fast as she was introduced to each of the crew members, Lee, Keron, shion, Andre, Tarnock, the list goes on and on... There were simply too many names to remember them all, but the first five she was introduced to after captain Khan, were ones that immediately stuck. They were each very kind, as all of Zuko's crew were, but those five had instantly decided to be her escorts around deck, much to prince Zuko's irritation... They all fawned over the exotic beauty that Katara was, always complimenting her blue eyes, her beautiful tan... Even how much better she looked in Zuko's clothes then he did! Of course, Katara ciucould help but giggle at that... In honor of Katara's first day out of bed, the prince and his crew had planned a big party to celebrate the fact that Katara was finally healing well and put together a very special music festival for her... Later that evening, her eyes were alight with happiness and laughter as she watched Zuko's uncle iroh drag him to the dance floor with him! It was a very amusing sight... After about fifteen minutes, Zuko broke away and raced back to Katara's side, a blush of embarrassment on his face...

" Sorry about that..." Zuko said angrily, " Uncle is so irritating..."

" But he loves you ... That's a wonderful feeling when you know your family loves you..." Katara said smiling, " And it's clear, your crew cares a great deal about you too..."

" Yeah..." Zuko said, distantly, his thoughts on the girl before him...

" Um..." Katara began, clearly how to approach the subject of what she wanted to say, " I have some feeling starting to come back into my legs..."

" That's wonderful!" Prince Zuko exclaimed excitedly, then, calming down a bit, he added a bit flushed, " Would you like to dance? I promise, I won't let you fall..."

Katara blushed, but Asif in a trance, placed her hand in his and shakily walked with him to the dance floor... Iroh watched with a light in his eyes as prince Zuko gently spun katara around the beauty of the full moon illuminating the couple as they spun and twirled together to the music... As one song ended and another one began to play, a most amazing thing happened... Prince Zuko began firebending as he and Katara danced completely unaware of what was happening... A few minutes later, Katara's element joined in the dance, the water shimmering and swirling around them with Zuko's fire, the entire sight completely ethereal and beautiful... Before long, the whole crew stopped laughing and eating and watched entranced as the couple kept up thier dance... The tempo to the music changed to a faster beat and prince Zuko and Katara increased thier speed, it looked almost as if they were sparring and dancing at the same time... The drums beat out a heart pounding rythimn as thier movements became faster and more complicated, with Katara doing cartwheels and twists and turns... The dance finally ended with prince Zuko gracefully dipping Katara back and both thier eliments shot up to the sky, both eliments taking the form of great dragons and dancing around each other before exploding in a firey display of Sparks and ice shards glittering all around them...

" General iroh..." Captain Khan said as he walked up to him, clearly in shock, " What on Earth was that?"

" I think... Captain Khan, if I'm not mistaken, that was the etournal flame dance..." Iroh said, an excited grin on his face...

" You mean?!" Captain Khan exclaimed.

" Yes... Our prince has found the one he is destined to be with..." Iroh said smiling...


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 16: Shopping Trip

About a week later, iroh exclaimed excitedly that they were going to stop in the next harbor in the earth kingdom to get more food and supplies for the trip...

" Sure..." Prince Zuko said, " I suppose the crew could use some time to relax..."

" Perfect! And I can go shopping!" Iroh said excitedly, " Perhaps you and miss Katara could join me! I'm sure she would appreciate a new wardrobe! Unless of course, you'd rather keep letting her wear your clothes!"

" Um... I think that's a great idea..." Prince Zuko said blushing, " Um... I think I'll talk to Katara and see what she thinks about going shopping uncle..."

" Wonderful!" Iroh said happily, " I'll inform the crew!"

Prince Zuko rolled his eyes, but couldn't help but smile as he walked away...

' uncle is always something else..." Zuko thought, smiling to himself.

When he got to his room, he knocked on the door out respect, and waited for her soft voice to give him the ok before opening the door and stepping inside... Once again, he was struck breathless at how beautiful she looked... Earlier that morning, prince Zuko had left her a black silk nightshirt and belt, having no clue how damn good she'd look in that color!

' I gotta get it together...' Zuko thought mentally slapping himself, ' But damn, she's really really good looking in my clothes!'

" Hey..." Prince Zuko said.

" Hey..." Katara said blushing, " What's up?"

" We're going to pull into a port in the earth kingdom to restock food and supplies... Would you like to go shopping with uncle and me?"

" Oh! Yes, that would be wonderful..." Katara said blushing, " I um... I could use some female products..."

" Female products?" Zuko asked stupidly.

Katara's face flamed brilliant crimson.

" Yeah... My uh... Underwrappings were destroyed before you first found me..." Katara said blushing fiercely.

" Right... Well uh, when we go shopping I'll give you some money to buy whatever you need..."

Prince Zuko said trying his best not to blush as a very provocative image of her popped into his head, " You really look pretty today..."

Katara blushed and looked away... She had chosen a pretty dark red lip paint and had painted her lips, enhancing her natural beauty once again... She had her long auburn hair brushed down her back until it shone like polished redwood, Zuko's mother's hair comb worn proudly in her hair above her ear... Her hair reached just above the middle of her back... She was truly breathtaking...

" Thank you..." Katara said shyly.

" Huh?" Prince Zuko asked, snapping out of his daze.

" Thanks for the compliment..." Katara said smiling sheepishly, " You look handsome too..."

Prince Zuko grinned and led her to the door, his hand firmly on her arm to help keep her balance... Despite both having fun dancing a week ago, Katara hadn't yet regained complete mobility in her legs, they were still pretty weak because of the many weeks she'd spent in bed, unable to move... She did walk with a jeweled silver cane with a silver snow leopard bear carved at the top of it, one uncle had actually bought the first year away from home, as it were... Katara was entranced when uncle had given it to her earlier that day... A blush coming to mind at what he'd said he'd settle for as payment coming to mind...

Earlier conversation with uncle.

" Uncle! This is far too beautiful for someone like me!" Katara exclaimed when she saw the beautiful treasure, " I can't except this! It's too expensive!"

" Nonsense my dear, and besides, if you really wish to pay me back for it, I can honestly tell you that there is only one way!" Iroh said grinning.

" Oh anything!" Katara exclaimed happily, " What would you like in return?"

" Lots of grandchildren!" Iroh said laughing, " I'm not getting any younger,you know?! And prince Zuko is already quite fond of you! I'm sure it wouldn't take too much persuading on your part!"

Iroh laughed as Katara's face flamed brilliant blood red as he left her room to leave her to think on it...

End earlier conversation...

Katara blushed as prince Zuko guided her up on deck, where the crew was bustling to get ready to go ashore... Thankfully, the nightshirt Katara wore as her dress was long enough to pool just above her feet, the sleeves were short on prince Zuko, but on her they flowed just past her elbows, almost looking like a pair of butterfly wings as she walked... The black silk flowed elegantly around her as she walked, drawing alot of attention from the Younger crew members, much to prince Zuko's irritation... Lee was unusually chatty as he started walking on Katara's other side, piling on the compliments...

" Wow!" Lee said happily, " You really look pretty Katara! If you ever want a boyfriend, I'm free!"

" Katara is 15!" Zuko exclaimed angrily, " You just turned thiteen Lee! She isn't interested in younger men, or any for that matter! Have you forgotten about what happened to her?!"

Lee paled visibly as he remembered the horrible details of why she'd ended up on thier ship, brutally violated, poisoned, and left for dead in the very ocean she loved... Lee bowed his head in embarrassment and shame... How could he possibly have forgotten?!

" Forgive me..." Lee said, his enthusiasm gone, " I'm sorry, my lady... That was very uncalled for and rude..."

" It's alright... But Prince Zuko is right... I'm not ready to have a boyfriend, but I'd love to have you as a friend..." Katara said smiling warmly.

" Oh! Of course! I'd be happy to be your friend!" Lee said grinning happily.

Katara smiled as the three of them left the ship and headed into town... It wasn't a very long walk from the docks before the town came into veiw, the many street vendors yelling there wares as the trio walked by...

" So, where would you like to go first?" Zuko asked.

Katara blushed as her eyes caught sight of a lady in her fifties selling underclothes... Something that Katara desperately needed... Katara blushed and cleared her throat in an attempt to get Zuko's attention without letting the younger boy know the embarrassing item she needed... Zuko blushed when he saw where Katara was looking, before clearing his throat...

" Lee..." Zuko said sternly, " Go find my uncle and make sure he doesn't buy out the entire town... Katara and I will continue to shop on our own..."

Lee jumped at Prince Zuko's angry tone and quickly disappeared into the sea of people as both Katara and prince Zuko sighed a breath of relief...

" Um... Thank you..." Katara said awkwardly, " Will it be alright if I go look at her stuff myself?"

" Well..." Prince Zuko said, unsure, " Are you sure you're feeling well enough to be on your own?"

" I have the cane uncle gave to me, I'll be ok for a few minutes..." Katara said smiling, " I won't be too long, I promise."

Prince Zuko nodded and watched as she carefully made her way over to the lady.

" Ah, how lovely! My name is Ashira!" Ashira exclaimed, " How can I help you, my dear?"

" Hello..." Katara said hesitantly, " My name is Katara... Um... I well..."

Katara blushed and looked around nervously, very uncomfortable with having to buy such personal things... Her hips and chest had grown out quite a bit since she first came to be in prince Zuko's protective custody, it was quite obvious what she needed... Ashira looked at the young lady with quiet understanding and gently led her to the privacy of the indoor shop she had, which was actually a large wooden wagon that had alot more on display inside. There were underwrappings of every color and a lot of beautiful dresses in what looked to be in her size... Katara was speechless as she stepped inside, unaware of the fact that Ashira had followed behind.

" So, my dear, see anything you like?" Ashira asked.

" It's all so beautiful!" Katara exclaimed happily, " But they are so fine, do you not have a more casual style dress?"

" Why, these are casual, my dear!" Ashira exclaimed, " Just look at my dress!"

Katara stopped and took a moment to really look at the dress Ashira was wearing... It was a deep forest green silk with gold leaves bordering the sleeves and base of the dress, a Jade pendant hanging around her neck...

" But how are people able to afford these?! Surely they must be quite expensive to make!" Katara said worriedly.

" We accept whatever kind of money a person has, silver, copper or gold... We aren't picky my dear..." Ashira said smiling, " We has fire nation colonies here, and the families are paid quite well by the army, so we make plenty of money to purchase the fine silks and satins I use in my designs..."

" Wow... You make them yourself?" Katara asked in amazement.

" Oh yes, I've gotten quite fast at it too!" Ashira said happily, " I make them all by hand..."

" They are really beautiful, but I don't want to buy you out!" Katara said quickly, " I'll just take a few pairs of white underwrappings please?"

" Nonsense! I insist you pick out what ever dresses catch your eye as well! Believe me, my dear, this isn't even a full third of my inventory! And I make new ones every day!"

Katara nodded speechlessly as she continued to browse the dresses in her size... She picked out a beautiful silver gown with bell sleeves and deep teal blue butterflies embroidered on it, as well as a pretty light blue dress with blue lace bell sleeves and lavender lilies on it... Prince Zuko had given her a full bag of gold coins to spend for her shopping, but she didn't want to spend all his money... The third dress she bought was a beautiful gold dress with a dark blue dragon embroidered on it's side, the sleeves a shimmering see through light gold...

" I have jewelry and tiaras to match each dress too my dear, no extra charge for you..." Ashira said sweetly.

" Oh... It's not necessary, you really don't have to..." Katara said blushing.

" Oh nonsense!" Ashira said winking, " Your traveling with the prince after all... May as well feel like a princess!"

" Oh, believe me, he and his entire crew already treat me like a princess!" Katara said blushing, " Honestly, I'd be dead right now if it wasn't for him..."

Ashira gasped a look of worry clear on her face... Ashira had long white hair and pretty light green eyes... But unlike most other old ladies, Ashira had flawlessly smooth skin... She was a very beautiful lady...

" What do you mean?!" Ashira asked in concern, " Did someone hurt you?!"

" I'd rather not talk about it... Could I possibly go somewhere and try my dress on?" Katara asked, changing the subject.

" Of course..." Ashira said in understanding, " My home is just around the corner, come with me..."

" Let me just let Zuko know where I'll be..." Katara said blushing, before rushing off...

Prince Zuko was still across the street where she'd left him, his anxious eyes worriedly searching for where she'd disappeared to... The wagon door opened across the street and prince Zuko sighed in relief as Katara appeared and quickly rushed across the street to him, empty handed.

" Sorry if I worried you!" Katara exclaimed, out of breath, her legs shaking with the strain of walking so long, " She had a lot more things for sale in her wagon... That's where I was..."

" Did you not like anything?" Prince Zuko asked.

" Oh no! That's the problem!" Katara exclaimed, " Everything was so beautiful! But I felt out of place buying too much from her, her designs we're so lovely and looked like something only royalty should wear!"

" That's exactly the reason you should buy as much as you want..." Zuko said, a bit irritated, "You are a daughter of the chief of your tribe in the south Pole, according to your brother..."

" So what?!" Katara said defensively.

Katara was starting to remember bits and pieces of traveling with the Avatar and her brother now, but she wasn't ready to see them again... Not yet... She really liked how kind prince Zuko was to her... She knew they were once enemies, but that was in the past... She could honestly consider him a friend now, as much as he's done for her...

" Uncle told me that in the North Pole, the cheif, his wife and any children they have is basically considered the royal family..." Prince Zuko said, " So by all means, you should be considered a princess..."

" And what makes you so sure?" Katara asked curiously.

" Your too beautiful to be just a regular villager... " Prince Zuko said softly, unconsciously placing his arm around her waist...

Katara blushed as prince Zuko closed in on her, her face flaming as she tried to think of a logical reason to push him away... But all she could think of was the fact that a handsome prince was about to give her her very first kiss...

" Your too late, your highness..." A deep masculine voice hissed hatefully from behind them, "I already gave Katara her first kiss long ago! Not that she'd ever kiss someone as ugly as you any way!"

Prince Zuko and Katara both whirled around to see a tall boy with messy brown hair and hard brown eyes glittering with hate staring at them... A piece of straw between his teeth...

" Jet..." Katara whispered softly...


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 17: Gifts

" Jet!" Katara said angrily, " What are you doing here?!"

" I should be asking you the same thing!" Jet growled angrily, " Just what the hell are you doing with the prince of the damn fire nation Katara?! Huh?! He's the enimy!"

" He saved my life!" Katara said angrily, " He isn't my enemy any more!"

" What?!" Jet asked in shock.

Ashira had come out of her home when she heard a familiar voice yelling at Katara and decided to try and settle things... Before something bad happened...

" Jet!" Ashira said angrily, " We do not disrespect the prince or anyone else from the fire nation here! We live in peace here, and I for one, intend to keep it that way... Do you understand?"

" Yes grandmother..." Jet said in defeat.

" Grandmother?" Katara asked in surprise.

Katara walked as jet bowed grudgingly before disappearing into ashira's house, the door slamming soundly behind him...

" I'm very sorry about that..." Ashira said sadly, " I met jet a few months back, his family was killed in a fire nation raid... It's understandable, the hatred he feels, but I've done my best to show him that not everyone in the fire nation is bad... My husband, who passed away a few years ago, was actually a soldier from the fire nation... He was very kind, and did everything he could to ensure peace between his troops and our village... I was only fourteen at the time when I first met him... But he quickly captured my heart... After his announcement for the army to settle here, some of the other single soldiers settled down and fell in love with some of the other girls in the village..."

" Oh wow!" Katara said blushing, " And the other soldiers agreed for peace?! Just like that?!"

" Yes..." Ashira said smiling, " Aikon was a very kind and gentle man, as well as a high ranking fire nation officer... The villagers were afraid of them at first, but gradually grew to trust them, after a while... I became pregnant at age fourteen, with Aikon's first child... We named her Liyra, she is about thirty five years old now and has a family of her own... About five years after our daughter was born, we had a little boy, named Airo... But unfortunately, he passed away at the age of five..."

" What happened to him?" Katara asked.

" Bitten by a poisonous snake... The healers couldn't help him..." Ashira said sadly, " It wasn't until about twenty five years later, my husband and I had our second daughter, .Airra... I was forty nine years old when I became pregnant with her... She's eight years old now..."

" Wow..." Zuko said in amazement.

It was unheard of for a woman to be able to bare a child after the ageof forty...

" Indeed..." Ashira said beaming, " I thank the gods every day for my wonderful family, although I miss my husband terribly still..."

" They say that there's always a chance you'll find another soul mate..." Katara said sweetly, putting her hand on Ashira's shoulder, " I'm sure Aikon would want you to find someone else too..."

" Oh yes..." Ashira said smiling sadly, " Aikon often told me that close to the end, that if anything should happen to him, he wanted me to love again... He often threatened to haunt me even, if I refused to start looking for a suiter..."

" That's sweet that he wants you to love again..." Katara said warmly, " Isn't it romantic, Zuko?"

" No..." Zuko said snorting, " If I found a beautiful woman, I wouldn't want her to find someone else after I was gone... I'd haunt the hell out of my wife to keep her from being with any other guys!"

" Uh!" Katara said angrily, " That's mean Zuko!"

" Ok, ok..." Zuko said grinning mischievously, " Maybe I will haunt any man that comes near her instead!"

Ashira smiled knowingly as the pair continued to bicker playfully back and forth...

" So..." Ashira said, changing the subject, " How did come to know jet?"

Katara blushed when Zuko looked at her questioningly.

" He uh... Gave me my first kiss..." Katara said nervously, " It was a long time ago... And after what he tried to do, I don't even think I could stand to be friends with him..."

" Oh dear..." Ashira said sadly, " What did he do?"

" He tried to kill all the fire nation soldiers that inhabited a small town..." Katara said thinking back, " I'm a waterbender, so he tricked me and my friend aang into filling the damn full of water... He was planning on destroying the town and everyone in it! Just because the soldiers lived there too! But like this town, the townspeople and the soldiers learned to live in peace together! The soldiers even recognized me and my friends, yet they were all very kind to us... Jet was going to kill everyone! If my brother hadn't warned me and Aang, we would have helped him kill thousands of people!"

Prince Zuko grabbed Katara and held her as she burst into tears, his concern for the girl reminding Ashira of how kind and caring her Aikon had been... Suddenly, a horrible thought occurred to Katara and she looked at Ashira fearfully...

" Ashira, he doesn't still have a deep hatred for the fire nation, does he?!" Katara asked worriedly.

" I'm afraid so..." Ashira said sadly, " But I'm sure he wouldn't hurt anyone!"

Meanwhile, on the other side of town, an older man with golden eyes and long black hair was concealed in a red cloak, effectively blending in with the common folk shopping and talking just as ordinary people do... It was a relief to get away from the palace in the fire nation and just enjoy the weather for a change... It was nice to see his soldiers and the townspeople getting along so well, and it was nice not to be treated as a royal for a change... Ozi had grown tired of everyone bowing to him as of late... He missed just spending time with his daughter, his precious little princess... But most of all... He regretted... He regretted hurting his son all those years ago, just because the general had grown angry for Zuko's outburst in the war room, because the general wanted to sacrifice new recruits in order to do a sneak attack on Ba Sing Se's army... Prince Zuko had been right... Even Ozi himself was appalled by the idea... But Zuko had spoken out before he had the chance to address the idiot general... The council of five demanded that a fire duel take place immediately, to prove that the fire prince was indeed fit to become fire Lord one day... But the general refused to fight and was dishonorably discharged for refusing to duel... And so, the council had demanded that Ozi test his sons skills himself... It went horribly wrong... Instead of showing off his skills as a fire Bender, prince dropped to his knees and bowed before his father in fear... Even when he was younger, Zuko feared his father... A fact that bothered Ozi greatly... Growing furious because of the council wanting him and his son to fight, and seeing his son on his knees before him, his anger got the better of him, and he blasted prince Zuko in the face with a fire ball, which Zuko refused to block, because he thought his father intended to punish him for speaking out... Fire Lord Ozi was upset over what he'd done to his only son, but before he could say anything, one of the elders spoke up, talking about dishonoring the great fire nation and how weak thier prince truly was... Ozi felt the complete opposite then what the elders did... He was sorry for hurting his son, but fire Lord's weren't meant to feel sadness or remorse or fear... Only a show of power was permitted... And so, because of the elders insistence, Ozi banished his son on an impossible mission to find and capture the Avatar and bring him to the fire nation... He hadn't seen his son since... Ozi watched from across town as prince Zuko escorted a lovely young lady to the old woman's house across the street...

" Ursa..." Ozi whispered longingly, " You'd be so proud of how much our son has grown..."

Across the street at Ashira's house, Zuko helped Katara into the house as Ashira bustled in after them, quickly putting a kettle on the stove and starting on making a batch of sweet dumplings and meatbuns for her guests... Before too long, the entire house was filled with delicious smells... Suddenly, a little girl with light goldish green eyes and long, light brown hair can running into the kitchen and plopped herself down on prince Zuko's lap, causing the prince to sputter in surprise!

" Hiya! My name is Airra!" Airra said grinning,she had two front teeth missing, " Your really handsome! And your really a pretty lady!"

Airra pointed at Katara...

" You must be his girlfriend! You sure are pretty!" Airra said happily.

" Uh... Thanks..." Katara said blushing, " Your mommy sure makes beautiful dresses."

" I know!" Airra chirped happily, " All the ladies in the village love mommy's work! She makes all different sizes and colors too!"

" She definitely does..." Katara said smiling.

" Katara." Ashira said kindly, " Your welcome to try on your gowns upstairs if you like... There's a guest room on the first door to your right... Airra?"

" Yes Mommy!" Airra said hopping down from Zuko's lap and grabbing Katara's hand, " Come on, I'll show you!"

" Oh!" Katara exclaimed, " But I haven't even paid you for them yet!"

" Nonsense my dear..." Ashira said happily, " I've got plenty of gowns and plenty of customers, consider them a gift, since you had to deal with jets unpleasantness... I insist..."

" Alright..." Katara said uncertainly, " Thank you..."

When Airra led Katara upstairs to the guest room, Katara went behind the changing screen, happy to find all of her under sets and gowns laid out neatly on the bed... She picked the gold one, it had a shimmering dark blue dragon embroidered on it with light blue crystals for eyes... Ashira had also set out some new shoes and boots for her to try on as well... She chose a soft pair of boots that we're bleached and dyed light gold, the boots fit her perfectly, and looked very elegant with the style of her gown, which had a slit up one side to her knee... The silk felt wonderful against her warm skin and it felt wonderful to finally have new underwear on! Checking her mirror that she had taken the liberty of bringing with her from the ship, she checked to make sure her makeup wasn't smudged and stepped out from behind the changing screen... Airra was thrilled...

" Oooh!" Airra exclaimed excitedly, " You look like a princess!"

" Only because of the beautiful dress your mother made..." Katara said blushing and smiling at the little girl, " She has some beautiful designs..."

" In lots of colors too!" Airra said excitedly, "why did you only want blue ones? Do you not like any of the other pretty colors mommy had?!"

" Oh no, I loved every dress your mommy made!" Katara said smiling at the sweet little girl, "But, I didn't want to be selfish and buy up all your mommy's pretty dresses from all her other customers, that wouldn't be very nice of me..."

" Yes it would! Because then, mommy would be able to make even more pretty dresses!" Airra said happily, " She loves being able to sell the clothes and jewelry she makes, because she always loved doing that! Daddy found all sorts of gemstone mines and everything and left all his treasure mines to mommy so she can have fun doing what she does! It's always been a favorite hobby of hers and she's been able to provide a wonderful home for us with lots of yummy food! Plus she has her own restaurant on the other side of town! We'll be opening around noon!"

Meanwhile, downstairs, Ashira was telling prince Zuko about they're lives and how she was able to make a living, making gowns and jewelry, thanks to the money and mines her husband had left to her, along with the retirement money he'd gotten each month...

" May I see your other gowns that you make?" Prince Zuko asked, " I'm sure the ones Katara picked out are very beautiful, but I think she deserves more then only three, I'd like to buy some for her too..."

" She went through alot..." Ashira stated sadly, " Hasn't she?"

" Yes..." Prince Zuko said sadly, " It happened several months ago... She was severely injured and floating face down... I honestly thought she was dead when I first saw her... She was so pale..."

". She was violated... Wasn't she..." Ashira confirmed sadly.

" How did you know?!" Prince Zuko asked in shock...

" No young lady her age has need of a cane in order to walk, unless she was born with a muscle disorder or physically abused..." Ashira stated firmly, " How did it happen?"

" I'm almost positive that it was admiral Zhou that hurt her..." Zuko growled angrily.

Ashira gasped in outrage...

" That horrible man!" Ashira hissed angrily.

" You met him before I take it?" Zuko asked.

" Yes... That horrible man came here two years ago, right before my husband fell I'll and demanded i give him my youngest daughter to him as a bride!" Ashira said angrily, " She was only six at the time! My husband was furious and ordered him to leave, saying that he was a sick, twisted man... He swore that he wasn't going to consummate the marriage until her thirteenth birthday, but both my husband and I refused... A few days later, my husband fell severely ill, and the doctors had no idea what caused it... He died a week later of a terrible fever..."

" A fever?!" Prince Zuko said worriedly, " Oh no... Zhou used poisoned whips on Katara and she got a really bad fever from the poison!"

" You think admiral Zhou poisoned my husband too?!" Ashira exclaimed.

" Yes... It sounds like the same symptoms Katara had!" Zuko said angrily, " He had to have gotten it from an assassin or something!"

" Zuko! Get up here!" Katara suddenly screamed from the top of the stairs, " Hurry!"

Zuko and Ashira raced up the stares to find Airra, collapsed on the floor, her eyes glazed and unseeing as she cried in pain...

" Oh dear God's!" Ashira wailed worriedly, " What happened to her, Katara?!"

" I don't know!" Katara said worriedly, " She was telling me about how Jet had some kind of magic potion that he was thinking about sharing with all the fire nation people and how she got angry when he wouldn't let her try it because she was too young! I didn't realize until she collapsed that she drank something from a vile in his room!"

Katara was in shock as Airra's little body began to convulse, her forehead burning hot with fever... Prince Zuko gently pushed Katara away and felt the girls forehead, gasping at the burning heat that came from the girl...

" It's poison!" Zuko said angrily, " The same poison that killed your husband no doubt!"

" Oh dear God!" Ashira cried.

" Katara!" Zuko exclaimed, " You're able to bend any kind of liquid, right?!"

" Yes!" Katara exclaimed.

" Can you bend the poison out of her?!" Zuko asked.

" I'll try..." Katara said hesitantly...

Gathering all of her concentration, Katara began running her hands above Airra's still body... After several passes, the thick green poison finally bubbled up out of the girls mouth and into the vile sitting beside her... After a few minutes, Airra caughed and began gasping for breath before the color and light came back into her eyes...

" I'm sorry mommy..." Airra said tiredly, " Uncle jet said I was too young to drink that magic potion... I guess I should have listened..."

" Jet..." Katara growled angrily, " Oh no! Ashira, where is jet?!"

" Oh... Oh!" Ashira said devastated, " He said he was going hunting!"

" I'll give you one guess what he's gone hunting after!" Zuko said angrily, " Ashira, stay here with your little one! Katara, we've got to find jet before he hurts someone else!"

" Right!" Katara agreed.

Zuko grabbed Katara's hand and both teens rushed out the door, hoping and praying that they would get to jet in time... But as they raced through the streets of the town, all they were met with, was blood and devistation... The streets were lined with hundreds of bodies, all fire nation... Men, women, children and elderly... Some were still painfully gasping for breath, each had a gash where thier hearts were... They finally found jet, a few blocks down... He had just plunged his daggerinto a man's heart, his golden eyes full of shock, unsuspecting of the young man in front of him having any ill intent... Katara watched in horror as the man's knees buckled, a trickle of blood escaping and running down the corner of his mouth... Katara's anger flared...

" Jet! How could you?!" Katara cried angrily, " All those people! They were innocent!"

They were fire nation Katara!" Jet snarled, " They were monsters!"

Suddenly, there was a deep deafening rumble in the distance, before a giant wave of water crashed in to the city and threw jet into a nearby wall!

" How dare you!" Katara screamed, " You killed women and children too!"

" Wives of monsters and children of monsters that would have grown up to kill innocent people..." Jet said smugly, spitting up a bit of blood, " I did the world a favor..."

" What about Airra?!" Katara screamed angrily.

" What about Airra?!" Jet asked, suddenly worried, " What happened to her?!"

" She drank your magic potion!" Katara screamed, lashing jet with a massive water whip and sending him crashing into a wall, " She nearly died too!"

" She was half fire nation any way..." Jet said coldly, " Her Fate was unavoidable..."

Katara's eyes turned dark ocean blue as her anger took hold of her anew, stopping Zuko in his tracks... He'd never seen her so angry and deadly, especially towards someone who attacked his people... Zuko stood frozen as every ounce of water dropped to the ground around them, and widened in fear as jets body began to move and twist unnaturally to the rythem of Katara's movements!

" What are you doing to me?!" Jet gasped in pain, " I... I can't move my body!"

" I should kill you for all the innocent lives you took!" Katara screamed angrily, " But I can't take a life..."

Jet let out a sigh of relief, thinking that his torture was over, but with one quick movements, Katara been Jet's upper body until his face was pressed painfully into the ground... Katara then formed a collar of ice around his neck and fixed him to the ground before releasing her hold on him... Katara's eyes changed then, to her normal light sky blue color, before getting lighter and lighter blue... Then, they began to glow... It was almost like when the Avatar went into the Avatar state, but way way different! The water from the ocean that was soaked into the ground around them, began to glow an eerie vibrant light teal blue, before turning into a mist and exploding out into every street! Prince Zuko, afraid of the incredible power that light had, covered his face as he watched in awe... The glowing blue mist sank into every body that lay dead or bleeding on the ground, and the wounds on each body began to seal over and heal... Once every other person was healed, Katara walked over to the man in the cloak, who was barely conscious and watching her with wide fearful eyes... Katara sank down to her knees, the blue mist swirling ethereally around her, and gently placed her hands on his chest... Ozi gasped as a calming warmth spread throughout his body and suddenly, the pain was gone completely! He could feel his blood restoring itself as his wound was healed completely! He couldn't even feel the burn of the poison in his blood any longer! This incredible woman from the water tribe healed him and every one of his people who resided in this town! Ozi looked at the girl in gratitude, this mere wisp of a girl, had saved hundreds of lives! The glowing mist swirled around Katara, causing her hair to lengthen slightly, before turning back into regular mist and fading into the ground... And as the mist faded, Katara passed out from exhaustion...


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 18: Starting To Fall

Prince Zuko was quick to catch Katara before her head could hit the hard packed dirt of the street and gently cradled her in his arms...

" Prince Zuko!" Iroh called as he ran to the young couple, " What happened?!"

" Katara saved everyone..." Zuko said, still in quite a bit of a shock himself...

" I've never seen such power before..." Ozi said in awe as he stood to his full hight, " Is she the Avatar?!"

" No... The Avatar is a twelve year old Airbender... She's a waterbender from the southern water tribe..." Zuko said quietly...

" She's certainly more then just your average waterbender..." Ozi said in awe...

" Forgive me if I sound rude..." Prince Zuko said suspiciously, " But who exactly are you?"

" No one important my dear boy..." Ozi said casually, " Perhaps you should take her back to the lady Ashira's house to regain her strength... You'll be seeing me again later..."

" Excuse me?" Prince Zuko asked.

" I suggest you pack for a very long journey... I'm sure you'll be making it in maybe a month or so... I just need to take care of some things first, then I will send for you..." Ozi said, making sure his hood effectively covered his face.

Iroh turned to the hooded figure, realizing at once that this was no stranger they were talking to, but as he was about to say something to reveal him, a hand on his shoulder stopped him...

" General iroh... The dragon of the west... You must be so proud of our nation's great prince..." Ozi said, unable to hide the slight bit of emotion in his voice, " Prince Zuko had enough honor to save this young woman, and she ended up saving all of us... Both of you must keep this young woman safe... The fire Lord will know first hand of her kindness and heroism... And of your honorable act as well... Dear prince..."

Before either iroh or prince zuko could say or do anything to stop him, the hooded figure disappeared in the shadows of a nearby ally... Once he was away from his son and his older brother, Ozi went over to Ashira's restaurant. Her little girl, Airra was very happy to see him, for recognized him the first time she'd seen him earlier that week...

" Hi Mr. Fire Lord!" Airra greated happily.

" Shhh!" Ozi said chuckling, " Remember, no one can know who I really am, I am Guzon..."

" Ok... But, when will you let people know who you are?!" Airra asked innocently.

" Once the war has ended, I will reveal who I am..." Ozi said smiling, he'd smiled so much more in that one week then he had in a very long time, " Some people don't like me because of what I'd done in the past."

" But your going to announce that the war is over?!" Airra asked excitedly.

" Yes... But first, there is someone I need to find..." Ozi said sadly, " I need to apologise to her and welcome her back home... It wasn't my doing that banished her... The council demanded me to..."

" It's ok..." Airra said happily, " She'll forgive you, once she sees how much you've changed for the better! And how nice you are!"

Ashira came in shortly after that and silently made her way to the kitchen so she could begin preparing the dough for her famous meat buns and sweet dumplings... Ozi had grown quite fond of the old woman and her little girl since he first found the quaint little restaurant earlier that week...

Meanwhile, prince Zuko had taken Katara back to his ship to allow her to rest more comfortable in his room... He had not looked in the mirror and didn't think much of it when he began feeling a tingling sensation in his face where he'd been burned so long ago... What really made him stop in his tracks though, was when the haze in his eye lifted and his ear that was burned suddenly opened, letting him hear sound for the first time since his banishment three years ago... Self conscious of his scar, prince Zuko walked over to his dresser where Katara had laid the mirror he'd given her and slowly picked it up, unsure why he had a sudden urge to see his reflection after so long... Expecting to see the same angry blood red scar as he had before, prince Zuko was shocked speechless when he looked in the mirror and saw not a blood red burned side of his face, but a nearly flawless face with just barely a tint of red! It looked no more than a simple birthmark! Prince Zuko turned and looked at the incredible young woman that lay on his bed, his heart swelling with admiration and... And love... Prince Zuko walked over to the bed and knelt beside it, taking Katara's hand in his...

" You have no idea how greatful I am to you..." Prince Zuko said, gently placing a kiss on her forehead, " I know now... There's no way I can ever let you go... I don't think I could survive without you..."

Katara blushed in her sleep, but did not awaken because she thought the sweet words her prince had said to her were mearly just a sweet dream...

Prince Zuko gently leaned in and gave her sweet slow lingering kiss on her beautiful pearly pink lips... She was truly an enchantress, for not only had she healed a great deal of his nation, but she'd healed his heart of all the hatred he'd felt over the years... She was a true healer indeed...

AUTHORS NOTES: I hope you all love this chapter as much as I do, I've got lots of plans for further chapters so happy reading everyone!😊


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